| Summary: | 【Abstract】 Objective: To analyze the time factor in
road traffic accidents (RTAs) in Fars Province of Iran.
Methods: This study was conducted in Fars Province,
Iran from November 22, 2009 to November 21, 2011. Victims’
information consisted of age, sex, death toll involving dri-vers or passengers of cars, motorcycles and pedestrians,
and site of injury etc. Accidents were analyzed in relation to
hour of the day, season of the year, lighting condition in-cluding sunrise, sunset, daytime and nighttime.
Results: A total of 3 642 deaths (78.3% were males, and
the ratio of males to females was about 3.6:1) were studied
regarding their autopsy records. There was a steady in-crease in fatal accidents occurring at midnight to 15:59. The
risk of being involved in a fatal traffic accident was higher
for those injured between 4:00 to 7:59 than at other times
(OR=2.13, 95% CI 1.85-2.44). The greatest number of fatal
RTAs took place in summer. Mortalities due to RTA during
spring and summer were more pronounced at 20:00 to 23:59
and midnight to 3:59, whereas mortalities in fall and winter
were more pronounced from 12:00 to 15:59.
Conclusion: The high mortality rate of RTA is a major
public health problem in Fars Province. Our results indicate
that the time is an important factor which contributes to
road traffic deaths.
Key words: Accidents, traffic; Epidemiology;
Mortality; Iran
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