FACTORS LEADING TO THE HIGH PREVALENCE OF ROAD-TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS (RTAS) IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF PAKISTAN

Road traffic accidents are one of the biggest avoidable causes of morbidity and mortality among both developing and developed countries. The lists made in the attempts of explaining the factors behind road-traffic accidents is by no means exhaustive; researches of different regions point to almost similar causes that hold responsibility for RTAs. The study aims towards finding factors that interact with one another to cause road traffic accidents, in an attempt to understand them better and develop better solutions for reducing RTA-related morbidity. Methods: The study was conducted in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The duration of our study was from February 2020 to March 2020. 100 Victims of RTA presenting in BVH. Ages 10-60 year. After taking informed consent from the respondents, data was collected through a performed questionnaire having two separate sections. Section 1 included the demographic details of the victims whilst section 2 was based on close-ended questions regarding nature of accident, nature of injuries inflicted, conditions of the accident, and the factors that precipitated the accident. Results: The data was summarized into tables, graphs and pie charts. The data was analyzed by descriptive analysis by frequency distribution of variables with RTAs. Multiple factors were found to play their part in occurrence of an RTA. This included personal, biological, vehicular and environmental factors. Conclusions: Road-safety laws and mode of vehicular transport are major factors that are involved in RTAs. In addition, individual safety measures such as helmets and seat-belts can help avoid a great amount of RTA-related injuries. Keywords: Road Traffic Accidents, Vehicles, Road-safety