Time analysis of fatal traffic accidents in Fars Province of Iran

• Main Authors: Heydari Seyed Taghi, Hoseinzadeh Amin, Sarikhani Yaser, Hedjazi Arya, Zarenezhad Mohammad, Moafian Ghasem, Aghabeigi Mohammad Reza, Mahmoodi Mojtaba, Ghaffarpasand Fariborz, Riasati Ali, Peymani Payam, Ahmadi Seyed Mehdi, Lankarani Kamran B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2013-04-01
• Series: Chinese Journal of Traumatology
• Online Access: http://www.cjtrauma.com/apps/ojs/index.php/cjt/article/view/387

【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