Spatio - Temporal Analysis of Characteristics and Causes of Road Traffic Crashes in Oyo State of Nigeria

Background Millions of people each year will spend long weeks in hospital after severe crashes. The WHO estimated that 1.3million people were killed by road traffic crashes (RTC) and 50 million injured on the worlds road annually, adding that over 80 percent of the figure occurred in developing countries, with Africa having the highest death rate. Also, WHO predicted that if nothing is done by countries to stem the tide death by RTC would increase by 65% by 2015 t~ 2020, overtaking malaria and tuberculosis. This paper is aimed at investigating the characteristics, causes and spill over effects of RTC in Oyo state for two periods, namely years 2011 and2012.Methods The total number of RTC cases and causes recorded in Oyo state where observed for the two periods under study. The total number of persons killed, number injured, sex and age of victims on each RTC incident was obtained. The causes were classified under four headings: dangero.u s driving, speed limit violation ' mechamcal fault and human factors. The multiple bar chart was used for comparative purposes. The Moran's Index and a complimenting statistic; the Getis and Ord statistic was used to ascertain spill over effects.Result Number of RTC varied over the two periods. RTC is characterized by deaths and injuries of adult males. The causes vary from one LGA to another, but similar within contiguous LGAs.Conclusion The results should enable the orientation of deaths and injury prevention policies targeted on the adult males in the state.Keywords: Spatial Hotspots; Road Traffic Crashes; Injuries and Deaths; Nigeria