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

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 acciden...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the scientific society (Belgaum) 2017-09, Vol.44 (3), p.145-147
Main Authors: Raina, Sunil, Awasthi, Bhanu, Kumar, Lucky, Kalia, Sandeep, Thakur, Lokesh
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents
Consent
Dementia
Drivers
Fatalities
Geometry
Highways
Injuries
Inspection
Materials selection
Musculoskeletal injuries
Occupant injuries
road geometry
road traffic accidents
Roads
Roads & highways
Rural areas
Statistical analysis
Traffic accidents
Traffic accidents & safety
Vehicles
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0974-5009
2278-7127
DOI:10.4103/jss.JSS_22_17