The death of a famous footballer in a road crash was greeted with disbelief – yet road deaths are heartbreakingly common.
Early this month, the football world was left shocked and devastated by the tragic death of Diogo Jota, who died with his brother, André Silva, 25, when their car crashed and caught fire in Spain.
At 28, Jota was at the peak of his career. He had celebrated so much in recent weeks, including winning the English Premier League with Liverpool and the Nations League with Portugal, as well as marrying his childhood sweetheart and long-term partner 11 days earlier.
The disbelief has been deep, as has the outpouring of grief. People have struggled to take in how a talented player was killed in his prime, when he still had so much to live for and give. “It doesn’t make sense,” Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo said.
This was indeed a terrible tragedy. But the harsh reality is that, fame aside, this is heartbreakingly common. Every day, countless young lives end in a horrific fate on the road. Their stories rarely make headlines, but the pain and loss felt by their families runs deep.
Globally, road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for young people and children (aged five to 29), with more than a million deaths annually. Malaysia ranks high in road fatalities, both globally and regionally (second highest among Asean countries).
We seem to view road deaths as unavoidable, as just “accidents” or isolated incidents. The reality is that driving is inherently risky, and we should see it as a systemic issue that needs addressing rather than simply blaming drivers.
Some countries have significantly reduced road deaths by proactively working towards a safe system (which also involves safer road design and policies such as speed limits of 30kph in residential areas).
It’s ironic that despite the statistics, people are so shocked when a famous person dies on the road. When Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997, the global disbelief was so deep that conspiracy theories flourished, speculating about a secret plot to kill her. Yet the causes behind that crash were among the most common factors of road fatalities:
Speeding – higher speeds increase the risk and severity of injuries in a car crash. At the time of the crash, the car carrying Diana was speeding at over 100kph, twice the speed limit for that area, in an attempt to evade paparazzi.
Lack of seat belts – Diana and the other occupants of the car were not wearing seat belts. An unbelted passenger can become a projectile in a crash.
Drunk driving – even small amounts of alcohol (or drugs) can impact reaction times and judgment. The driver, who lost control of the car, had a blood alcohol content three times higher than the legal limit in France and was also taking prescribed tranquillisers.
Speeding has also been cited as a top cause of road deaths in Malaysia, in addition to dangerous turning and overtaking. Rear seat belt use is particularly low in Malaysia; one expert said last week it was as low as 10%. Drunk driving is less of an issue here, but drug use (stimulants) among commercial drivers has been identified as an issue.
Also, both Diana and Jota died in crashes that occurred shortly after midnight, when fatigue and visibility are more of an issue.
In Jota’s case, which is still under investigation, police said a tyre blowout on his Lamborghini during overtaking caused the car to veer off the road and burst into flames. Tyre blowouts are a common precursor to serious crashes. The road of the crash site has been criticised for having potholes while authorities are also investigating “possible speeding”.
What feels particularly tragic to me is that Jota was advised by doctors to drive rather than fly after recent minor surgery on his lung. So with his brother, also an international footballer, he planned to drive over 600km from Porto, Portugal, to Santander in Spain, to catch a ferry to England. It was a fatal choice. If road safety had been considered, perhaps the odds might have been in favour of flying, given that deaths from commercial aircraft crashes are very low.
Football will eventually move on, but for Jota’s parents, who have lost their only children, and his widow, who now has to raise their three kids alone, this tragedy will leave a lasting void and ache.
The news of Jota’s death brought back memories for my aunt of the loss of her own brother decades ago. My uncle was just 22 when he was killed on a road trip to Penang, caught in a crash between two lorries.
His death was deeply felt, but he was just one number in a sad statistic. In the time you’ve taken to read this article, a few more crashes would have occurred. As reported in The Star in March, every 50 seconds there is a road incident, and every two hours, another road death. How long more will we allow this to go on?
Mangai Balasegaram writes mostly on health, but also delves into anything on being human. She has worked with international public health bodies and has a Masters in public health. Write to her at lifestyle@thestar.com.my. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.
