Nearly one in five people in Wallonia have been injured in a road accident, according to a survey published on Friday by the Walloon Road Safety Agency, which warned that the effects are not only physical but also psychological.
Ahead of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday, the agency said the psychological impact of crashes remains widely underestimated. According to a survey, 19% of Walloons had already been hurt in a road crash, and 8% had been involved in an accident in which someone else was injured or killed.
The survey also found that road trauma reaches far beyond those directly involved. More than one in four people in Wallonia, or 26%, said someone close to them had been admitted to hospital for at least 24 hours after a road accident, while 22% said they knew someone who had died in such circumstances.
Related News
- Bilingual Ottawa, bilingual Brussels: same challenges?
- How Brussels became a French-speaking city
- Reading the room: Brussels bookshops turn the page
According to the survey, almost half of those directly or indirectly affected by a road accident said they had suffered anxiety, further finding that 45% of people also reported a fear of driving, 41% mentioned flashbacks, and 40% reported persistent sadness or depression.
These symptoms can sometimes last for years. Laura Collart, a psychologist with the agency’s support service for road crash victims, said such reactions can be deeply unsettling but do not mean a person is losing control.
“They are a normal response to an abnormal event,” she said. “They generally fade over time. But when they persist for several weeks and disrupt daily life, psychological support may be needed.”
The Walloon Road Safety Agency said it provides free psychological and legal support to more than 400 affected families each year.
Around 30 people are injured on Wallonia’s roads every day, while one person dies on average every two days.
