Educational level and age as contributing factors to road traffic accidents

【Abstract】Objective: This research analyzes data on road traffic accidents (RTA) in Fars province, whose roads are among the highly dangerous ones in Iran. It inves- tigates educational level and age involved in RTA in order to discover patterns that can prevent or decrease accidents. Methods: This research made use of data visualization techniques to find hidden patterns. The data included mor- tality rate related to RTA in Fars province and were obtained from Fars Forensic Medicine Registry covering a period of 1 year from March 21, 2010 to March 21, 2011. All data were analyzed using SPSS 11.5. The results were reported as de- scriptive indices such as frequency (percentage). The Chi- square test was applied to the data concerning educational level and age. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: In the mentioned period, 1 831 people were killed, out of whom un/lowly educated people (69.6%) ac- counted for the highest mortality rate. The significant rela- tionship between educational level and mortality rate was found (X2=275.98, P<0.0001). Also three was a significant association between age and mortality rate (X2=371.20, P<0.0001). Young people (age between 20 and 29 years) contribute to higher RTA mortality rate compared with other age groups. Conclusion: The educational level and age are signifi- cantly correlated to mortality rate. The youth and un/lowly educated people suffer more fatal RTA. Key words: Accidents, traffic; Mortality; Education; Data mining; Ira