| Context: Despite considerable attention given to health statistics of road traffic crashes (RTCs), the epidemiological aspects of injuries
resulting from RTCs are not fully understood in Iran and other developing countries. The aim of this review was to study the
epidemiological pattern and issues arising due to RTCs in Iran.
Evidence Acquisition: The scope of this study involves data from a broad range of published literature on RTCs in Iran. Data collection
for this study was conducted by searching for keywords such as traffic accidents, traffic crashes, motorcycle accidents, motorcycle
crashes, motorcycle injury, motor vehicle injury, motor vehicle crashes and motor vehicle accidents, Iran and Iranian in various
databases such as Embase, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Magiran, Iranian scientific information database (SID) and IranMedex.
Results: This study comprised of 95 articles. It is evident from this review that a large number of severe RTCs occur due to collision
of two or more vehicles and most of the victims are males aged between 30 and 39 years. Male pedestrian, drivers and passengers
are more likely to be severely injured in comparison to females. One of the most prevalent causes of death among adults involved in
the RTCs are head injuries and the majority of deaths occur prior to hospitalization. Mortality rates for RTCs are higher in summer,
especially during midnight among all age groups. The most common individual and environmental risk factors associated with
RTCs include lack of attention, getting trapped in the car, listening to music, fatigue and sleepiness, duration and distance and
negligence of seatbelt usage while driving.
Conclusions: The findings of the current study will be beneficial in prevention of RTCs and its associated complications and hence
will be vital for policy makers, health service managers and stakeholders. |