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Patterns of road traffic injuries in a vulnerable population in Hyderabad, India

Health Studies Area, Centre for Human Development, Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, India

Correspondence to:
Dr R Dandona
Health Studies Area, Centre for Human Development, Administrative Staff College of India, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500 082, India; rakhi{at}asci.org.in

Objective: To describe patterns of road traffic injuries (RTI) in a vulnerable population—pedestrians and users of motorized two-wheeled vehicles (MTVs)—in Hyderabad, India.

Methods: 4019 pedestrians and 4183 MTV drivers provided information on the most recent road traffic crash (RTC) irrespective of the level of injury in the last one year for 17 454 and 17 242 household members, respectively. Crashes in which any household member was involved as a pedestrian or MTV user were analysed.

Results: Involvement in an RTC as a pedestrian or MTV user was reported for 1513 (4.4%, 95% CI 4.2 to 4.6%) people in the last one year. In these crashes, the person involved was an MTV user in 1264 (83.5%), aged 21–40 years in 973 (64.3%), and male in 1202 (79.4%). Six (0.4%) people died in RTCs and the cause was collision with a vehicle/person in 1133 (75%) crashes. Among the 1306 people who were injured and survived, 174 (13.3%) were treated as inpatients, 38 (2.9%) could not return fully to routine daily activities, 630 (48.2%) took leave from their regular occupation, and 13 (1%) lost their jobs following injury. Using a three month recall period, the annual incidence per 100 000 population of RTC as a pedestrian or MTV user was 2288 and of non-fatal RTI was 1931, and that of fatal RTI using one year recall period was 17.3 in this population.

Conclusions: These findings on how RTI are caused, their type, and outcomes in pedestrians and MTV users can assist in identifying interventions to improve road safety for this vulnerable population in India, and can also be useful for monitoring the effectiveness of such interventions.

Abbreviations: MTV, motorized two-wheeled vehicle; RTC, road traffic crashes; RTI, road traffic injuries

Keywords: India; injuries; motorised two-wheeled vehicle; pedestrian; road traffic crash