Risk Of Road Traffic Injuries Research Articles

Alcohol and road safety behaviour among New Zealand tertiary students

In New Zealand, as in most developed countries, rates of injury mortality and morbidity peak in late adolescence (15-19 years), when they account for around three quarters of fatalities and a third of hospitalisations. Road traffic crashes account for over half of fatal injuries in New Zealand as in most developed countries. Individuals engaged in post-secondary education, i.e., tertiary students, are a large and important subgroup of young people exposed to the risk of road traffic injury. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of unsafe road behaviours and to examine the role of demographic variables, alcohol use, driver licence status, and transport needs. Participants were 1,480 students (899 women) from 12 residential halls in Dunedin, New Zealand. They anonymously completed a questionnaire on alcohol use and road safety at the start of the 2000 academic year. A sub-sample of 967 students completed a follow-up survey six months later. The mean age of the sample was 18.3 years (SD=1.6), and 88% had a driver licence. Male gender and drinking status were independently associated with speeding, drink-driving and drink-riding, but not seatbelt use. Drinking levels showed a strong dose-response relationship with the prevalence of unsafe behaviours with the exception of seatbelt use. In marked contrast to drinking levels, which increased from baseline to follow-up, drink-driving and drink-riding levels decreased, probably reflecting the reduced motor vehicle transport needs of students in residential halls, relative to their out-of-term living environments. In addition to various existing, evidence-based countermeasures, application of interventions for reducing hazardous drinking may be required to help reduce road traffic injury rates in this population.

The burden of road traffic injuries in developing countries: the 1st national injury survey of Pakistan

Objectives: To assess the burden of road traffic injuries in Pakistan—a developing country in South Asia. Methods: A nationally representative household interview survey, to measure the burden of all injuries for all ages and in both genders using a three-month recall period. Results: The overall incidence of injury events was 41 (CI: 39.2–43.8) per 1000 per year and for road traffic injuries 15 (CI: 13.7–16.5) per 1000 per year. The relative risk for road traffic injuries was found to be higher in males, those 16–45 years old, and those in the professional category of laborers and vendors. Conclusions: This first national survey reflects the growing impact of injuries, especially road traffic injuries in Pakistan and portends a challenge for the national health system.

Patterns of road traffic injuries and associated factors among school-aged children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

A study was conducted to describe the pattern of road traffic injuries and associated factors among schoolaged children attending public hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, between May and October 1999. The study included all children younger than 18 years, and data were collected using a structured interview guide. This article is based on an analysis of 286 children who sustained road traffic injuries out of a total of 1886 children presenting with various injuries during the study period. Almost 52% of these children were in primary school, with the most common age group between 5 and 9 years. A large majority of the children came from the poorer socio-economic residential areas of the city. Almost one-third of the victims and 36% of guardians were unaware of safer ways of walking on the road. Parents or guardians perceived the risk of road traffic injuries as low, with one-third thinking that they were not a major problem in their community. Similarly, two-thirds of guardians thought that collisions to children could not be prevented. This study demonstrates that road traffic injuries are a major problem among school-aged children in Dar es Salaam. Furthermore, the study reveals that there is significant ignorance about safe road usage among the parents or guardians of injured children, and that the majority of them think that collisions are not preventable. African Safety Promotion Vol.1(1) 2002: 37-41

Walking to school and traffic exposure in Australian children.

Daily patterns of pedestrian activity in young children have important health implications, primarily because of the risk of road traffic injury, but also because they may reflect the commencement of exercise habits with long-term consequences. A cross-sectional survey in two Australian cities, Melbourne and Perth, aimed to collect, by parent self-administered questionnaire, population-based data on modes of travel, numbers of street crossings (both accompanied and unaccompanied by an adult), and sociodemographic factors for six- and nine-year-old children. Results indicate that 35 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 31 to 39 per cent) and 31 per cent (CI 28 to 34 per cent) walk to school in Melbourne and Perth respectively, while over 60 per cent are driven to school by car, with very small proportions riding bicycles or taking public transport. A higher level of walking was associated with lower levels of several indicators of socioeconomic status. Logistic regression analysis showed that the strongest predictor of walking activity was school type (government versus independent), and after adjusting for this, lesser car ownership, non-English-speaking background and lower occupational category were associated with walking to school, while a different set of predictors--age, sex and maternal education--was associated with the unaccompanied crossing of streets. There was little difference in overall walking levels between boys and girls, but boys were significantly more likely to cross streets unaccompanied (adjusted odds ratio 1.41, CI 1.14 to 1.72), providing a partial explanation of documented sex differences in injury rates.