Demographic Characteristics of Pedestrians Died from Traffic Accidents in Kurdistan Province During 2004-2009

Traffic injuries are noticable events because of high prevalence and mortality. In Iran, traffic injuries after heart disease are the second cause of death and first cause of wasting life and it will lead to the most important problem that threats our health. The Pedestrian are the most vulnerable people in traffic injuries among them death and disability are high. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the demographic characteristics of pedestrians who died of traffic accidents over a period of six years (2004-2009) in Kurdistan province of Iran. In this cross sectional study (descriptive- analytical), by census method, all 654 cases of dead pedestrians were studied. Then by using a check list for demographic characteristics, location, time of the incident and the cause of death collected and data analyzed by spss software finally. Of the 654 dead pedestrians, more than two thirds (69.1%) were male. According to age, the majority of cases were 65 and older (27.8%). Half of the fatal accidents occurred in urban roads (59.8%). There was a significant relationship between sex of victims and the location of incident (p<0.05). Also, most of the victims died before transferring to the hospital. Based on the findings, according to the high rate of death among older pedestrians and pre-hospitalize phase, some helpful proceedings such as training, installation of pedestrian bridges, suitable for the elders, and traffic signs besides, empowerment of medical aid system will reduce death in pedestrians.