Epidemiological Study of Fatal Road Accidents in Eastern Iran in a Five-year Period

Road accidents are regarded as one of the most critical global health issues. In Iran, road accidents are the second cause of death, followed by cardiovascular diseases. The present study was conducted with the aim of the epidemiological evaluation of deaths caused by road accidents in Torbat Heydariyeh City, Iran, between 2013 and 2017. 

This is a cross-sectional study in which information on fatal road accidents recorded in the Forensic Medicine Organization of Torbat Heydariyeh City was collected from 2013 to 2017. Excel software was used to analyze the data. A total of 311 fatal accidents have been reported in Torbat Heydariyeh from 2013 to 2017. 

The mean±SD age of the deceased was 39.55±22.71. Men accounted for 69% of deaths. Most road accidents occurred in 2016 with a percentage of 24%, most of which happened in the sixth month with a percentage of 13%. Head injury in road accidents was reported as the main cause of death (48%). 130 of the dead were passengers (42%). The type of vehicle used by victims of road accidents was motorcycles (25%), and pedestrians (18%). 

Since fatal road accidents impose direct and indirect costs on society, intervention measures, such as repairing the roads on accident-prone roads, installing warning signs, defined fines, etc., should be taken to improve public health and prevent the increasing trend of accidents in Iran.