Outcomes of Road Traffic Accidents Before and After the Implementation of a Seat Belt Detection System: A Comparative Retrospective Study in Riyadh

Abstract

IntroductionRoad traffic accidents (RTAs) are considered a major cause of death in Saudi Arabia. As seat belt compliance provides significant safety among drivers, a camera detection system has been implemented in March 2018 to enforce seat belt utilization, which can decrease the severity of road traffic injuries. There are no previous studies in the country that have assessed the effectiveness of a seat belt camera detection system on the severity of RTA-related injuries. MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical Trauma Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study included 688 adult patients who were involved in RTAs from the period of March 2016 to March 2020. A data extraction form included sociodemographics, clinical variables, and outcome measures. The data were analyzed using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) to evaluate the primary outcome measures: mortality, ejection from the vehicle, ICU admissions, and severity measures (injury severity score (ISS) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)) before and after the implementation of seat belt detection system. Associations of the outcome measures in the pre-implementation and the post-implementation periods' seat belt detection were assessed using regression tests. ResultsThere was no significant difference in the mean age between the pre-implementation and postimplementation periods of the seat belt detection system (31.39 years and 32.57 years, respectively). All of the outcome measures have improved following the implementation of the seat belt detection system. Mortality and ejection rates decreased significantly with 58% lower risk of death (OR= 0.42; 95% CI= 0.2,0.8) and 37% lower risk of ejection (OR= 0.63; 95% CI= 0.42,0.94). ICU admissions showed a slight decline in the post-implementation period compared to the pre-implementation period (30.37% vs. 31.37, p<0.7764). Severity measures (ISS and GCS) were slightly improved in the post-implementation period. Head and neck injuries were dominant in the pre-implementation period, and chest injuries were the most common body injuries after the implementation. ConclusionThis study highlights the direct association between compliance with seat belt use and the primary outcome measures among patients who survived a road traffic accident. All of the outcome measures showed improvement in the post-implementation period, which indicates the effectiveness of the newly implemented seat belt detection system. These findings raise awareness to the public in regard to seat belt compliance.

Prevalence and Determinants of Road Traffic Accidents in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review

“…The age range of participants had no distractions. The mean age recorded was 30.13 (±12.86) years, 30.7 years, and 32.57 years, according to Alslamah, Thamer et al 2023 [20], Algahtany, Mubarak Ali 2022 [22], and Al Babtain, Ibrahim et al 2022 [24], respectively. AbdelRazik, Mohamed et al 2021 [23] reported that the age of 38% of cases was 20 to 30 years, and 23.3% were 30 to 40 years.…”

“…Socio-demographic characteristics of participants: The socio-demographic information of participants from nine distinct studies is included in Table 1, which summarises the large number of cases from references [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. These studies' geographic scope is constrained because they were all selected within Saudi Arabia's regions, like the Aseer region [22], Al Kharj [23], Riyadh [24,26], Tabuk [25], Eastern Province [27], and Ha'il [28]. The research methodology of the reviewed studies [23,[25][26][27] used a cross-sectional design; one study [20] was Analysis of national data, and the others [21,22,24,28] were retrospective studies.…”

“…These studies' geographic scope is constrained because they were all selected within Saudi Arabia's regions, like the Aseer region [22], Al Kharj [23], Riyadh [24,26], Tabuk [25], Eastern Province [27], and Ha'il [28]. The research methodology of the reviewed studies [23,[25][26][27] used a cross-sectional design; one study [20] was Analysis of national data, and the others [21,22,24,28] were retrospective studies.…”

“…Alsofayan, Yousef Mohammad et al 2023 [21] stated that 90% of the accidents were due to direct collision, 3% were due to running a red light, and 1% were because of bad road conditions. Al Babtain, Ibrahim et al 2022 [24] reported that 306 RTA were before the law on seat belts was implemented and 382 were after the implementation. Yagoub, Umar et al ( 2021) [25] explained that 62.0% of participants had a vehicle-tovehicle collision, and 32% of them reported that the use of a mobile phone was the main reason for their current road traffic collision.…”

“…According to AbdelRazik, Mohamed et al 2021 [23], RTAs are the main reason for admission to the ICU and account for 57% of all injury-related admissions, placing a heavy cost on the healthcare system. According to Al Babtain, Ibrahim et al 2022 [24], the head and neck areas were the most often impacted body parts prior to seatbelt deployment, whereas the chest was the most frequently affected region following it. Road traffic accidents can result in serious injuries and fatalities, which have an adverse effect on the victims' and their families' emotional and physical well-being, social lives, and financial situation, according to Yagoub, Umar et al 2021 [25].…”