Road traffic accident related morbidity as seen in an accident and emergency department

Injuries to pedestrians in road traffic accidents

Although there have been many reports on injuries to occupants of cars in road traffic accidents, there have been few prospective studies of injuries to pedestrians in such accidents. For this reason a two year prospective study of pedestrians in road traffic accidents in the Oxford region was carried out. The incidence of death in pedestrians was significantly higher than in car occupants or motorcyclists. The principal determinant of death was the weight of the vehicle concerned. The most common site of injury was the head because of a high incidence of brief concussion, but the most common site of serious injuries was the leg. Injuries to all regions of the body increased with age and with the weight of the vehicle in the collision. Accidents most often concerned young children or the elderly.

[Motorcycle accidents in the municipality of São Paulo, SP (Brazil). 1. Characterization of the accident and the victim]

Estudo descritivo, feito por meio de dados oficiais, dos acidentes de motocicleta com vítimas (3.390), incluindo atropelamentos, ocorridos no município de São Paulo, SP (Brasil), em 1982, e que tiveram como conseqüência 4.480 vítimas. Destas, 166 faleceram dentro do período de até 180 dias após o evento. Esses acidentes foram mais freqüentes e mais graves do que aqueles relativos aos demais veículos a motor. Suas vítimas se caracterizaram como predominantemente do sexo masculino, das faixas etárias de 15 a 24 anos, e cerca de dois terços da população estudada foi de motociclistas. Em relação ao momento do acidente, constatou-se um pico nos fins de semana e uma distribuição não havendo diferenças significantes em relação aos meses e períodos do dia.

The pedestrian problem: a 12-month review of pedestrian accidents

Three hundred and sixty-one pedestrians involved in road accidents in the course of a year have been studied. Fourteen of the pedestrians died following hospital admission, and analysis of data from Strathclyde Police showed that another 16 pedestrians died at the roadside. Certain characteristics of the whole group are reviewed and a plea is made for more appropriate use of available statistics in the production of practical road safety legislation.