Road Traffic Injuries and Related Safety Measures: A Multicentre Analysis at Military Hospitals in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background. Road traffic injuries are one of the major public safety issues around the world, as they put a great burden on countries’ economies. Saudi Arabia has a good road transportation system, but still, road-related fatalities are higher in this country. The main purpose of this study was to determine the association between the severity of injuries caused by road traffic collision and safety measures taken by the drivers admitted to the emergency departments at two military hospitals in Tabuk, a city in Saudi Arabia. Methods. A total of 342 male drivers who had injuries due to road traffic collision took part in this multicentre, cross-sectional study. The research sites were King Salman Armed Forces Hospital and King Khalid Armed Forces Hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The data were collected using a common protocol and a self-reported questionnaire with the help of convenience sampling approach. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were done using IBM SPSS version 23. Results. Nearly 62.0% of the male drivers were aged less than 36 years. About 90% of the drivers were from low- and middle-income groups. Logistic regression analysis indicated that drivers who had road traffic collision and used mobile phones while driving were four times more likely to have severe injuries (OR = 3.89; 95% CI (2.53, 5.95)), those who drove the vehicle at an excessive speed limit were three times more likely to have severe injuries (OR = 2.71; 95% CI (1.01, 4.97)), and those who attempted to overtake another vehicle were two times more likely to have severe injuries (OR = 1.85; 95% CI (1.24, 3.77)). Conclusion. Based on the results of the present study, the most important safety measures which contributed the most to road traffic collision were use of mobile phones while driving the vehicle, driving at an excessive speed limit, irregularity in maintaining the vehicle, attempt to pass other vehicles, and not following the traffic rules. All the safety measures are protective, but if care is not taken, they will risk the life. There is an urgent need to spread traffic safety awareness in this region.

Factors affecting bus accident severity in Thailand: A multinomial logit model

“…The study showed that bus drivers who do not obey traffic rules are more likely to cause a fatality than a non-injury during a bus accident. This result is consistent with previous studies [ 48 ], which demonstrated that bus drivers not obeying traffic rules tend to experience more severe injuries. The results revealed that bus drivers who are drunk while driving are more likely to cause a fatality than a non-injury in bus accidents.…”

“…In contrast, Prato CG et al [ 19 ] reported that high speed limits may increase bus accident severity. A recent study on road traffic injuries showed that drivers driving at excessive speeds were two to three times more likely to cause severe injuries [ 48 , 51 ]. The results of the model also showed that bus drivers who attempted to overtake another vehicle or displayed abrupt maneuvers were more likely to cause a fatality compared to a non-injury, which is consistent with a previous study [ 48 ], which demonstrated that those who were abrupt driving were more than two times likely to be more severe injury.…”

“…A recent study on road traffic injuries showed that drivers driving at excessive speeds were two to three times more likely to cause severe injuries [ 48 , 51 ]. The results of the model also showed that bus drivers who attempted to overtake another vehicle or displayed abrupt maneuvers were more likely to cause a fatality compared to a non-injury, which is consistent with a previous study [ 48 ], which demonstrated that those who were abrupt driving were more than two times likely to be more severe injury. Accidents occurring due to the driver falling asleep or experiencing fatigue were more likely to result in injury or fatality compared to non-injury, respectively.…”

Analysis of road traffic injuries presented to the emergency department in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia: a hospital-based study

“…Additionally, a study in Qassim concluded that the most common injuries involved the head and neck, followed by the lower limbs [ 21 ]. This variation in literature may be attributed to a multitude of regional factors that may influence the mechanism of injury, such as the average driver’s road experience, the nature of roads in urban versus rural areas [ 22 ], and the availability of speed cameras [ 23 ].…”

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

“…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.…”