Road geometry as a factor for musculoskeletal injuries due to road traffic accidents in Sub-Himalayan State of Himachal Pradesh

oleh: Sunil Kumar Raina, Bhanu Awasthi, Lucky Kumar, Sandeep Kalia, Lokesh Thakur

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2017-01-01

Deskripsi

Background: Road traffic accidents (RTAs) kill 1.25 million people each year and injure between 20 and 50 million more people with many incurring a disability as a result of their injury. The road environment (design and geometry) can affect driver speed choice, thereby increasing chances of accidents.Materials and Methods: Patients attending tertiary care center for musculoskeletal injuries after an RTA were enrolled in the study. The data were collected using a standard questionnaire. The details on the geometry of the road (type of road; highway or other, metaled or nonmetaled, straight, and curved) were obtaine through inspection wherever possible. Results: Majority of the RTAs occurred on state highways (n = 154/313, 49.7%) followed by national highways (NH) (n = 94/313, 30%). Link roads account for comparatively less number (n = 65/313, 20.7%) of cases. Majority of the accidents occurred on metaled road (n = 268, 85.6%); however, the association of different vehicles involved in RTA with the condition of road was not found to be significant statistically (P > 0.5). Further, the majority of the RTA occurred on straight roads (n = 204, 65.1%). Conclusion: Road geometry is an important factor in RTAs as drivers generally tend to choose their speed based on their perception of the appropriate speed for the road geometry.