Road traffic injuries in Mozambique

Road traffic injuries affect the economy, health and quality of life of the people of Mozambique. Current road safety programmes are inadequate and inefficient given the magnitude of the problem. Data reported on road traffic crashes in the period 1990 to 2000 from the National Institute for Road Safety, the traffic police and the Central Hospital of Maputo were reviewed. The burden of road traffic injuries in Mozambique is rising, with at least three people killed daily. The age group most affected is 25-38 (39.35%), followed by 16-24 (20.79%). The main causes of crashes include reckless driving, drunken driving, roads with potholes, inadequate signs, lack of protection for pedestrians, and inadequate traffic law enforcement. However, the data are not adequate to reveal the true magnitude of the problem. Data collected by different sources are incomplete and not coordinated with other sources and databases. In urban areas, however, better response to crashes, treatment of the injured, reporting and data collection is attributable to a greater concentration of police and medical facilities. Road traffic safety programmes in Mozambique are inadequate and inefficient, starting with the data collection system. Improvement of injury surveillance systems is needed to help make road traffic safety a national development agenda priority and for developing and implementing road safety policies. For road safety programmes to be effective, government must facilitate stakeholders’ involvement, and the clear definition of government activities, civil society activities and public-private partnerships need to be established.     

Road traffic injuries in Colombia

Road traffic injuries are a leading public health problem in Colombia. Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users, especially in the main urban centers of Bogotá, Medellin and Cali. Data analyzed in this report include official statistics from the National Police and the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences for 1996-2000, and results of a study conducted at the National University of Colombia in 2000. Methods from the Highway Capacity Manual were used for determining physical and technical variables, and a Geographical Information System tool was used for the location and spatial analysis of the road traffic crashes. Pedestrians accounted for close to 32% of injuries and 40% of the deaths from road traffic crashes. The problem of road traffic crashes existed predominately in urban areas. In the main urban centers, pedestrians constituted nearly 68% of road traffic crash victims. The high level of risky road use behaviors demonstrated by pedestrians and drivers, and inadequate infrastructure for safe mobility of pedestrians in some sections of the road network were the main contributing factors. Major improvements were achieved in Bogotá following enhancements to the municipal transport system and other policies introduced since 1995. In conclusion, policies and programs for improving road safety, in particular pedestrian safety, and strengthening urban planning are top priority.     

Environmental risk factors contributing to traffic accidents in children: a case-control study

The aim of this study is to identify environmental risk factors related to road accidents in children of Tehran. This case-control study was performed in 2013. The cases were injured pedestrians aged 5–15 who were admitted to major hospitals supervised by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The sample size for the cases was 273 and for the control group was 546. For the completeness of the clusters, 7 extra persons in case (total = 280) and 14 persons (total = 560) in control group were included. The interference of confounding variables assessed through forward conditional logistic regression. Result shows occurrence of traffic accidents was significantly associate with the width of the alleys or (<5 m: OR = 8.4, 95% CI: 3.3–21.5; 5–8 m: OR = 4.7, 95% CI: 1.8–12.2), distance from home to school((<100 m: OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.0–2.8), existence of parking lot (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0–2.3), traffic congestion (OR = 4.1, 95% CI: 2.6–6.4), traffic speed (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.3–3.2) and existence of pedestrian bridges(OR = 4.2, 95% CI: 2.6–6.8). In the light of the important role of environmental factors in the occurrence of child traffic accidents, alleviating structural risk factors in addition to education and enforcement need more systematic efforts and planning by policymakers and urban planners to attain pedestrian safety goals.     

Road traffic accidents and policy interventions in Korea

The high rate of road traffic crashes, in conjunction with the absence of order on the road, has long been considered a critical social problem in Korea. The Korean public seems to agree that high priority ought to be placed on policies for improving road safety. Using data from government sources, this study describes what has happened in the area of road traffic crashes since 1970, the causes of traffic crashes, and the relative importance of traffic injuries as a cause of death in Korea. Road traffic crashes in Korea increased nearly eightfold, from 37,000 in 1970 to 290,481 in 2000. The fatalities increased three-fold and injuries ten-fold over the same period. Road traffic injuries were the leading cause of death for people under 29. However, through multiple policy interventions, partly in response to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, about two thousand road traffic deaths and nine thousand traffic-related disabilities were averted in 2001 alone. The policy interventions included enforcement of penalties for seven risky driving behaviours, including drunk driving and speeding, installation of traffic-monitoring cameras, financial rewards for citizens who reported traffic violations, introduction of a road safety evaluation system, correction of accident black spots in existing roads, and road safety education programs. Through multiple policy interventions, road traffic crashes in Korea were reduced in a relatively short time period, along with their associated injuries and fatalities. However, road traffic crashes still pose a major public health problem, threatening the quality of life of the Korean people.     

Road traffic crashes at night-time: characteristics and risk factors

Abstract

The study was to examine the nature and risk factors associated with road traffic crashes at night in Ghana and identify potential measures to control them. Crash and injury data for the period 2013-2017 were analyzed. The fatality index and fatal crash ratio measures were employed to assess the severity of injuries among traffic participants. Statistical analysis was carried out for the variables using contingency tables and the chi-square (χ²) tests to assess statistical significance. Generally, night-time traffic crashes resulted in severer injury outcomes than crashes in the hours of daylight (χ²(2)=292.7, p?<?0.001). The relative risk of death in a night traffic crash was 1.3 times that during the daytime. The risk of death was highest among pedestrians (44%) and motorcyclist (18%) compared to bus/mini-bus occupants (16%) and car occupants (11%) and the observed percentage differences were significant (χ²(14)=2303.2, p?<?0.001). Most of the collisions (67%) occurred at the early hours of the night, between 18:00 and 22:00?hours. Poor night visibility coupled with poor visual guidance on roads are the key contributory risk factors associated with night travels. Policies must be geared towards provision of functioning street lights in built-up areas, road line markings, delineators and signage for the highways and arterial roads.     

Entrepreneurial Transition in Estonia in the 1990s- Entrepreneur in a Driver's Seat on the Road to the Market Economy

No abstract available for this article.     

Road traffic crash injuries and fatalities in the city of Kerman,Iran

The objective of this study was to investigate road traffic crash injuries and fatalities. Cases of 3902 road traffic injuries (1709 drivers, 891 passengers, 376 pedestrians and 926 motorcyclists) and 1564 road traffic fatalities (RTFs; 1222 males and 342 females) were collected from 2005 to 2008 using the database of the police forces and Department of Forensic Medicine in Kerman, respectively. Results showed that 66% of the injuries were related to car occupants (drivers and passengers) and men/women ratio was 5:1. The highest men/women ratio was (12.2:1) for drivers, while the lowest ratio (1.8:1) was for pedestrians. Most of the injuries had taken place at 16:01–20:00 h followed by 08:01–12:00 h. Highest numbers of injuries were found in male with the age groups of 18–24 years. The highest fatality rate of 79 per 100,000 population occurred in 2007–2008. Fatality ratio indicated higher male ratio, four times higher than females. The victims were 39% male between 30 and 55 years of age. Head injuries were present in 69% of the cases. In our series of forensic autopsy cases, head injuries were more frequent in motor vehicle occupants, pedestrians and motorcyclists. On average, two people died per day in RTFs in Kerman.     

Road traffic crashes managed by Rescue 1122 in Lahore,Pakistan

The objective of this retrospective study was to describe demographic characteristics, injury patterns and causes of road traffic crashes (RTCs) managed by Rescue 1122 in Lahore, Pakistan during the period 2005–2010. In total 123,268 RTCs were reported and responded by Rescue 1122 ambulance service during the study period. Of the 132,504 victims of RTCs, there were 67% male and 33% female subjects, and the maximum share (65%) was reported among people aged 16–35 years. Motorcyclists were involved in 45% of crashes, with over-speeding (40%) found to be the major reason of these collisions. Similarly, minor injuries (65%) and fractures (25%) were the most reported outcome of these crashes. It is concluded that data from ambulance services, if appropriately collected, can provide valuable epidemiological information to monitor RTCs in developing countries. However, in Pakistan, the collection of data as well as the registration process needs further improvement.     

Road traffic injuries in Thailand: Trends,selected underlying determinants and status of intervention

Injuries and deaths from traffic crashes have become a major public health and socio-economic problem in Thailand. Injuries, fatalities and economic losses due to traffic crashes have increased with the rising level of motorization. This study analyzes hospital-based data compiled by the Ministry of Public Health, data compiled by the National Police Office and data compiled by the traffic engineering division of the Department of Highways, Ministry of Transport and Communications. Analysis reveals that 70% of the people injured or killed in traffic crashes are aged 10-39. Men are at four to five times higher risk of death and injury due to traffic crashes than women. The number and rate of traffic injury in Thailand swung from a record low during the economic recovery in the 1980’s to record a high during the bubble economy, then declined with the economic crisis in 1997. The economic costs were estimated at U.S.$1.6 billion in 1995. An urban-rural difference in traffic injuries has been recorded with a higher rural case-fatality rate. A number of known behavioral risk factors have been identified, i.e., drunk driving, speeding, substance abuse and failure to use helmets and seat belts. However, determinants of behavior need further investigation. Hazardous road locations have also been mapped. Trends of traffic injuries seem to follow trends of economic growth. Without effective policy and implementation programs to control the determinants, it is expected that traffic injuries will increase as the country recovers from economic crisis. A major pitfall to many current government programs is that they incorporate no systematic evaluation. The fragmented structure of road safety authorities further complicates collaboration and coordination. A broad coalition of stakeholders is needed to catalyze policy action.     

Estimating road traffic mortality more accurately: use of the capture-recapture method in the West Azarbaijan province of Iran

The study estimates the rate of fatal road traffic injuries (RTIs) by population and road-users group in one Iranian province. The capture - recapture method was employed, using both the death register and the forensic medicine register over one year. They recorded totals of 669 and 665 RTIs respectively, giving a non-overlapping number of 897 cases. An estimate of 1018 fatalities occurred, at rates of 34 per 100,000 of the population for all road users aggregated, 10 per 100,000 for pedestrians and 25 per 100,000 for other road users. Coverage was somewhat better for victims less than 15 years of age, and also for males. The method showed 121 under-reported cases in both sources; however, it can help Iranian policy-makers to produce a good estimation of fatal RTIs number each year, when following up current RTIs-prevention programmes. Yet, given that each registry operates separately, optimum coverage will only be obtained when both sources are integrated and work together.     

Road traffic crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries in Arkhangelsk,Russia in 2005–2010

The study investigated trends in traffic crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries in Arkhangelsk, Russia in 2005–2010. Data were obtained from the road police. Negative binomial regression with time regressor was used to investigate trends in monthly incidence rates (IRs) of crashes, fatalities, and non-fatal injuries. During the six-year period, the police registered 4955 crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries, which resulted in 217 fatalities and 5964 non-fatal injury cases. The IR of crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries per total population showed no evident change, while the IR per increasing total number of motor vehicles decreased on average by 0.6% per month. Pedestrian crashes constituted 51.8% of studied crashes, and pedestrians constituted 54.6% of fatalities and 44.5% of non-fatal injuries. The IRs of pedestrian crashes and non-fatal pedestrian injuries per total population decreased on average by 0.3% per month, and these were the major trends in the data.