Road traffic injuries and deaths: comparing reports by different sources

Objective (s): To compare injuries and deaths reported by different sources. We compared information on road traffic injuries and deaths reported by three source of information: police, emergency medical services (EMS), and hospital records. The data were collected from crashes in Tehran-Abali road (with a 45 Kilometer radius). After pooling the data from all organizations, it was revealed that during one year, 245 road traffic accidents occurred Of these, 434 people were either injured or deceased. Police and EMS stated they were unaware of 67 and 51 cases, respectively. In other words, police, pre-hospital emergency services and hospitals have reported 56.2%, 82.9% and 76.4% of the entire number of injuries or deaths respectively. None of the information sources, including police and EMS alone had complete information. It seems to develop and implement a comprehensive data collection system on traffic accidents; a multidisciplinary cooperation among police, EMS, hospitals, legal medicine