While many Australian travellers obtain recommended vaccinations or take medication for food, water and insect-borne diseases before travelling overseas, few are aware of the very real potential for traffic-related injuries, Travelvax Australia warns.

Destinations such as Bali, Thailand and Vietnam are among the most popular destinations with Aussies – particularly young travellers – but many travellers fail to recognise the risk that poor roads, inadequate or non-existent passenger restraints and lack of traffic policing present.
“While Travelvax’s clinic nurses and doctors hear plenty of anecdotal evidence, statistics on traffic-related deaths and injuries involving Aussie travellers are scarce,” said Dr Eddy Bajrovic, medical director of the travel health advisory service.

“I suspect that this is because the causes of death or injury often go unreported, although our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade concedes that motorcycle accidents, in particular, are ‘very common’ in South-East Asia". However, US data shows that one third of the 2346 American travellers who died overseas between 2004 and 2006 were killed in road accidents.

“It may be that travellers are in holiday mode or take road safety for granted, taking risks they would not take at home.” A recent global assessment of road safety revealed that more than 3000 people die on the world's roads every day and 90 per cent of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. In its report, the World Health Organization predicted that road-crash casualties will increase by 67 per cent in the next decade as more cars and trucks compete for road space with pedestrians and bicyclists.

According to the report, young adults are particularly vulnerable. Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among young people between 10 and 24 years, with almost 400 000 people under 25 killed on the world’s roads, mainly pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and those using public transport.

The Federal Government warns that the number of Australians involved in traffic accidents overseas is likely to increase as more travel offshore. For those who forego travel insurance the cost of medical treatment as a result of traffic accidents ‘can result in long-term financial burden’ for them or their family.

“When you combine dangerous drivers in unsafe vehicles and poorly designed and maintained roads with inadequate medical and emergency services you have a frightening scenario,” Dr Bajrovic said. “First-time travellers are amazed to see the chaos of human and motorised traffic moving at different speeds on narrow roads in developing countries, with vehicles weaving out and around slower traffic in the face of oncoming traffic before swerving away at the last moment. Travelling at night is doubly dangerous.”

Travelvax offers the following road safety advice for Australians travelling abroad, particularly to developing regions:
Pedestrians should …
* Cross roads at designated pedestrian crossings or stretches of roadway with good visibility in both directions. However, don’t assume drivers will stop!
* In many countries traffic travels in the ‘opposite direction’ to what Australians are used to. When walking along the roadside, face the oncoming traffic so you can see approaching vehicles.
* Do not ride with a driver who appears drunk, tired or irrational, and ensure taxis or hire cars have working seatbelts. Don’t be afraid to tell an erratic or speeding taxi driver to take care and slow down.
* Avoid riding on top of buses or trucks, or in open-backed vehicles.
If you do intend to drive …
* Obtain comprehensive driver and medical insurance before you go.
* It is likely you will need an International Drivers Permit (available from motoring bodies like the NRMA) and contact the appropriate foreign mission in Australia for information on driver’s license requirements. Learn about the country’s traffic culture, road conditions and local road rules. (For more information, the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT) offers regularly updated reports on some 150 countries).
* ‘Buckling up’ and don’t drink and drive. Even a short trip (especially at night) can have costly – even fatal – consequences.
* Give your car a bumper-to-bumper visual safety check, checking seatbelts, tyres, headlights and wipers.