Descriptive Epidemiology of Road Traffic Mortality Caused by Heavy Vehicles in Iran in 2018

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) have become an important public health problem and the mortality rate due to RTAs in Iran is significantly higher than the international standards. There is no accurate information about the mortality rate caused by heavy vehicles in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating road traffic mortality caused by heavy vehicles in Iran.

In this cross‑sectional study, the mortality rate caused by heavy vehicles was evaluated regarding age, sex, marital status, education, place and type of accident, and traffic classification. The relative frequency percentage was used for descriptive analysis. T‑test, Chi‑square, and one‑way ANOVA were used to examine the relationship between the variables.

Atotal of 3560 persons died only due to heavy vehicle accidents, and the age‑standardized mortality rate was 4.34 per 100,000 populations. The mean age of the victims was 38.9 ± 20.8 years. Furthermore, 80% of the victims were male. Results showed that 83% of all deaths occurred outside cities, and the most common type of vehicle used by the victims was truck and trailer. The highest percentage (57.3%) of accidents was related to heavy and light vehicles.

The rate of RTAs‑related mortality rate caused by heavy vehicles in Iran is higher than the basic international rate, and there is a need to investigate the causes of this issue.