Extending the boundaries of the Declaration of Helsinki: a case study of an unethical experiment in a non-medical setting

To examine the ethical issues involved in governmental decisions with poten tial health risks, we review the history of the decision to raise the inter urban speed limit in Israel in light of its impact on road death and injury . In 1993, the Israeli Ministry of Transportation initiated an "experiment" to mise the interurban speed limit from 90 to 100 kph. The "experiment" di d not include a protocol and did not specify cut-off points for early termi nation in the case of adverse results. After the raise in the speed limit, the death toll on interurban roads rose as a result of a sudden increase in speeds and case fatality rates. The committee's decision is a case study i n unfettered human experimentation and public health risks when the setting is non-medical and lacks a defined ethical framework. The case study stare s the case for extending Helsinki type safeguards to experimentation in non -medical settings.