A Retrospective Autopsy Study of Pattern of Injuries Sustained by Pedestrians of Fatal Road Traffic Accidents

Abstract

As per the commission for Global Road Safety (2009), Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) kill an estimated 1.3 million and injure 15 million people every year globally. In Asia, it is about 700,000 per year which is more than 50% of world's fatalities. As per 2009 statistics of India, RTA was around 4.9 lakhs, killing 1, 25,660 persons and injuring more than 5 lakhs. This can be deduced as one RTA occurring every minute and a fatality every 4 minutes. More than 50% of these fatalities are in the age group of 25-65 years, a productive wage earning and child raising age group, thus snatching the bread earner. The top five States in RTA are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. As per 2009 statistics, Bangalore stands second to Ahmadabad in fatal RTAs. The pedestrian fatalities are maximum due to non availability of safe foot paths; erratic and reckless movement of traffic in busy lanes. Many cosmopolitan cities of India have become death traps for pedestrians (67.9%.) 1 The roads are poorly constructed with least importance given to pedestrian. The vehicle drivers in peak hours often use foot path too, if available! This study was conducted in IT hub of Bangalore, Whitefield. The movement of traffic is at its peak in morning (8AM-10AM) and evening (4PM- 6PM), being office going and leaving hours. This study is undertaken to evaluate the factors responsible to study the pattern of injuries to the pedestrians & also to suggest measures to prevent pedestrian accidents & thereby preventing morbidity & mortality. Language: en