The Real Cost of Road Traffic Accidents

Nobody wants to make that phone call to a loved one. “I’ve been in an accident”, the very words are enough to send shivers down the spine.  It’s a time of confusion, fear and pain. You’re asked what happened and you have to try to make sense out of all the images running through your mind. 

What’s real and what’s not? Someone tells you they have called an ambulance and that the police are also on the way. You wonder why, after all it was only a bump. The front of your car looks different and you’ve hurt your leg. Apart from that you feel fine, except for the pain across your chest and your neck and your sore ribs.

Gradually it dawns on you that the rasping sound is your breath and that the car is not on fire, it’s just the dust from the rapidly deflating airbag. 

The ambulance arrives and then you and the other driver are checked out. Another ambulance is called so that both of you can be taken to hospital to be checked over properly. Your head is being supported and a neck brace is being put gently into place. 

You are trussed like a chicken as they put you on a spinal board to prevent any further injuries. Then they pump up the mattress you are on to further support your battered body. All the time you are being reassured that you are okay and that this is all as a precaution. You try not to panic but you are finding it hard to breathe. 

You finally get loaded into the ambulance and with siren wailing you head for the nearest hospital. When you get there you find that the other ambulance has already arrived and that you will have to wait your turn. 

Your head starts to hurt from the back of the neck brace and your leg is throbbing. Finally, you get wheeled into the examination room. You have lost track of time and all you want is to fall asleep. 

They start to loosen the straps and then let the air out of the mattress. The pain is intense as your body is no longer cushioned. You are supported and rolled as they remove the spinal board and finally the doctor starts to probe your wounds. 

The pain increases until you wish you could faint and then at last you are given an injection for the pain and are sent for x-rays. Another long wait and then the uncomfortable positions until are the x-rays are complete. You are pulled this way and that and just want it all to be over. 

Then you are taken back to the doctor again with x-rays in tow. Now there is nothing to do but wait for the pain medication to kick in and for the doctor to read the x-rays. 

Good news, there is nothing broken but you will be stiff and sore for the next few weeks. You will not be able to work and will be confined to bed for a few days. Everybody starts telling you how lucky you are. 

Now the reality starts to sink in. Your car is wrecked so you will have to get that sorted. This will involve a lot of paperwork and a lot of red tape. You can’t work and your boss will only pay sick pay for a limited time.

 So what is the real cost of road traffic accidents?  It’s no money, no car, doctor and hospital bills, ambulance bills, police statements and a lot of pain.