Road traffi c crashes in rural setting: an experience of a middle-income country

【Abstract】Objective: To date, there has been little information published on the death of rural road accident deaths. This study uses burden of injury method to explore a more accurate estimate of years of life lost due to road traffic crashes occurring over a four-year period in Guilan province, northern Iran. Methods: Rural road accident deaths from 2009 to 2013 were extracted from Iran’s Forensic Medicine System, Death Registry System and Road Trauma Research center database. Results: During the study period, the average years of life lost due to motor vehicle crashes was 13.8 per 1 000 persons, ranging from 11.9 during March 2011- 2012 to 15.8 per 1 000 persons during March 012-2013. Conclusion: Road accident deaths in 2013 remained at the same high level as in 2009. The information obtained from this study provides a new perspective on fatal road traffi c crash victims in rural settings and show us that more attention is needed in this area. Key words: Accidents, traffi c; Iran; Mortalit