Road Safety as an Essential Need of Aged Population: A Case of Tabriz City, Iran

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate and determine the hotspot points of traffic accidents in the Tabriz metropolis during 2020-2021. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting(s): Tabriz, Capital of East Azarbaijan province in northwest Iran. Participants: The patients were injured in traffic accidents and transferred to hospitals with the prehospital system in Tabriz in 2020 and 2021. Interventions: Prehospital ambulances. Outcome measures: The data included the number of traffic accidents, demographic variables of patients, vital signs, the severity of the accident, the type of vehicle involved in the accident, and the location of each accident based on the division of the municipal area. Results: In this study, the ratio of male to female was 3:1, and the mean age of patients was 35±15 years. In 2020, there were 5423 traffic accidents, of which 17.6% occurred in the 7th municipal region, 16.9% in the 4th municipal region, and 12.2% in the 6th municipal region of Tabriz. In 2021, 6611 missions were carried out, 16.6% of which occurred in the 4th and 7th municipal regions, while 12.6% occurred in the 6th municipal region of Tabriz city. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, regions 7, 4, and 6 are among the Road Traffic Accident Black Regions (RTABRs) in the Tabriz metropolis; therefore, it is necessary to review and investigate the causes of traffic accidents and carry out interventions to increase road safety.