Saudi Gazette report

DAMMAM — As many as 2,365 people die or become permanently crippled because of head and back bone injuries, mostly resulting from traffic accidents, in Saudi Arabia every month.

There were 12,877 head and 15,507 backbone injuries in the Kingdom in 2018, the Arabic daily Makkah reported on Saturday quoting a number of experts.

According to the figures released by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat), there were 15,086 traffic accidents in the Kingdom in 2018.

Dr. Ammar Ismail, consultant in emergency medicine, said car accidents was the No. 1 cause of the head and backbone injuries, which might result in death or permanent disability, in the country.

He said the backbone injuries, especially in the upper part of the neck, might cause sudden death while the injuries below the neck might cause permanent disability.

Dr. Ismail attributed the close correlation between the number of the road accidents and the number of backbone injuries to the fact that seven passengers would ride in a car with a capacity for five people. He said, with the exception of the driver and those sitting in the front seat, the passengers in general did not wear the safety belts.

"There were no special seats for children and most of the drivers used mobile phones while driving," he said.

Dr. Ismail called for quick intervention to take the injured passengers to hospital and called for severe punishment for careless drivers.

He believed that this would greatly reduce the number of deaths and injuries resulting from road accidents.

He said it was important, at the time of the accident, to coordinate between the health service providers including the Red Crescent, the Health Ministry and the hospitals.

"It should not take more than an hour to transport the injured victims of accidents to hospital. This will help save their lives and avoid permanent disabilities," he added.