Study of epidemiological pattern of pedestrian's road traffic injuries in 2014 and determination of related risk factors on severity of injury

Pedestrians are one of the most vulnerable and important road users. This study aimed to identify the current situations and present a clear picture of epidemiological pattern of road traffic injuries among pedestrians in Iran in 2014.
This was a secondary analysis study using the traffic police data. Differences of selected variables and type of road traffic injuries were examined. To test the related risk factors for severity of injuries the univariate regression analysis was performed. The injury information extracted from a special form called COM that provided by traffic police of Iran.
There were 50518 accidental injuries among Iranian pedestrian in 2014. Qom province with 108.81, Zanjan with 91.21, Golestan with 89.09, and Khorasan Razavi with 87.49 had the highest rates of pedestrian injuries per 100000 populations versus 3.97 in Char-Mahal O Bakhtiari with the lowest rate. Results showed that age, sex, safety facilities for pedestrian for crossing roads, unsafe behaviors and the anatomical site of injury had a statistical significant association with the severity of injuries. Majority of injuries occurred between 3:00 to 6:00 PM (22.9%) and 6:00 to 9:00 PM (24.7%).
The great number of pedestrian injuries in Iran in 2014 in this study and other studies shows that pedestrian safety is poor. Scientific approach using descriptive and analytical epidemiological studies might help to implement preventive measures for reducing pedestrian injuries in Iran.