Essay on Kuwait Road Accidents From the Perspective of Health Determinants

Today, people focus on promoting their welfare and standards of living. Like most people, when Kuwaitis go to driving school, they believe that there is a possibility they will be driving an expensive car in future. This desire motivates them to work hard. Within time, they are able to achieve their objective. At this point, most people have a change in their general perspective. This explains why one driver may see another driver trying to overtake; and allow him or her to overtake. It also explains why another driver may decide that he does not have to allow another driver to overtake. This kind of arrogance is responsible for some of the accidents on the roads. It is part of the human behavior. Some know how to make decisions based on reason. Others simply cannot be convinced of something even if there is reason in it.

Ignorance is also part of human behavior. In most cases, ignorance causes many people to regret. On the roads, Kuwaitis are becoming more and more ignorant (Al-Kandary & Al-Waheeb, 2015). Even today, many of them still find themselves in trouble for ignoring road signs. As a driver, one is expected to focus while driving. It is the same as taking an exam. One needs to be aware so that he or she can do his or her best. However, just like in exams, most people to choose to ignore road signs. (Alver, Demirel & Mutlu, 2014).

The same behavior is evident among drunk drivers. These individuals choose to ignore that drunk driving is wrong. The vice has led to many road accidents in the world. Although drunk driving is ignorant behavior, it can also be attributed to socio-environmental influences. Most drunk drivers choose to ignore their mistake. However, drinking is mainly a group influence. There is a need for healthcare personnel and law enforcement officers to create awareness on and caution drivers against influencing others to drink without having a designated driver. This initiative should help instill a sense of responsibility among such individuals.

Social media is becoming prevalent in Kuwait and in the world. It is also a social environmental factor in the number of road accident sin Kuwait. The need to stay updated with ones social life has led many Kuwaitis to their deaths through road accidents. This behavior is hugely evident in young people. However, it also exists among other drivers who like calling people while they are driving. The use of mobile phones while driving is a major issue in Kuwait (Welki & Zlatoper, 2014). There are fines, imposed on those caught using phones while driving. However, it is evident that this measure has not been effective. If the government has to increase the punishment to reduce the number of road accidents, then it should be done.

The healthcare services in Kuwait are adequate. If the number of road accidents occurring in the country is average, the healthcare systems can ensure that the victims of these accidents are well treated. However, the number of road accidents continues to increase. This creates a major problem for healthcare providers in the country. It can be hard for the medical personnel to report to every scene if the accidents happen every ten minutes as detailed in the article. However, the biggest challenge is with the citizens, expatriates, and the government. All these parties need to recognize this problem and use all means to eliminate it.

References

Al-Kandary, N., & Al-Waheeb, S. (2015). Patterns of accidental deaths in Kuwait: a retrospective descriptive study from 20032009. BMC public health, 15(1), 302.

Alver, Y., Demirel, M. C., & Mutlu, M. M. (2014). Interaction between socio-demographic characteristics: Traffic rule violations and traffic crash history for young drivers. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 72, 95-104.

Welki, A. M., & Zlatoper, T. J. (2014). The effect of cell phones on international motor vehicle fatality rates: A panel-data analysis. Transportation research part E: logistics and transportation review, 64, 103-109.