Mohammad Hussain Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Niamatullah Zia, Tariq Sohail Babar, Khalid Shakeel Babar.
Road traffic accidents.
Professional Med J Jan ;14(2):323-7.

Road traffic accidents are a major yet neglected public health problem in developing countries. Trends in motorization indicate an increase in road traffic injuries; furthermore, by 2020, they could rank third in the order of burden of disease Road traffic accidents are an important yet preventable cause of death and disability in developing countries, like Pakistan. Objective: To explore preventable aspects of the road traffic accidents. Design: Cross sectional study Setting: Casualty department of District Head Quarter Teaching hospital Dera Ismail Khan. Patients & Methods: All non-fatal and non-comatose cases of road traffic accidents victims reporting to casualty department were included in the study. The victims of the accidents were interviewed to obtain information about circumstances leading to accidents. The information collected comprised: time of accidents, nature of injury, narcotic consumption of driver, condition of road and vehicle, safety belts, road signs and vehicle speed beside demographic characteristics of respondents. Results: Age revealed that age group 21-25 years were highly affected 18 % while age group 51-55 years were least affected 2 %. Among them were male 76 % and were female 24%. 93 victims belong to rural area ( 62%) while 57 were from urban (38%). Among victims, 37% were motorcyclist, 23% bicyclist , 22% motorized two-wheelers and 18% bus users. The accidents were more common during the daytime in 100 cases (66%). Fractures of bones was common injury in 90 cases (60%) afflicted to the victims followed by multiple injuries like blunt injuries, abrasions and lacerations. Among victims , only 2% used protective helmets. All helmet users were motorcyclists. No seat belts were found to have been used by the victims. There was no evidence of any narcotics consumption by the driver prior to accidents. Conclusion: Road traffic accidents are predictable and preventable but good data is important to understand the ways in which road safety interventions can be effective. Cost-effective preventive measures can be designed to address this global problem.

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