Epidemiology of fatal traffic crashes in Iranian motorcyclist in 2017

Motorcycle-related traffic crashes are a major public health problem and one of the important causes of disability and mortality in Iran. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of fatal traffic crashes among Iranian motorcyclist.

This cross-sectional study was conducted using available data in the Forensic Medicine Organization, which are related to motorcyclist population of Iran who died in traffic crashes in 2017. All of received data were analyzed using SPSS 25 software for epidemiological variables.

During the year 2017, 3862 people died due to motorcycle crashes, of whom 3704 (95.9%) were men and 158 (4.1%) were women. The highest rate of mortality was observed in 18-24 years age group with 1071 (27.8%) cases. Most of the victims died in hospital (52.7%) and because of head injury (53.6%). Mortality rate was higher in those with high school diploma and less (92.4%) education and self-employed (39.7%). The main mechanism of motorcycle crashes was collision with moving vehicles (79.5%). Of the deceased people, 78.38% were drivers and 20.3% were pillion passengers. In addition, most crashes occurred out of city (48%).

Due to the high mortality rate of motorcycle crashes in Iran, preventive measures and precise planning to control predisposing factors and reduce the burden of these crashes are considered necessary.