- Email: [email protected]
Prevalence of seat belt and mobile phone use and road accident injuries amongst college students in Kerman, Iran
Chinese Journal of Traumatology 2011; 14(3):165-169
. .
Prevalence of seat belt and mobile phone use and road accident injuries amongst college students in Kerman, Iran Ghorbanali Mohammadi* AbstractObjective: To investigate the prevalence of mobile phone and seat belt use in driving in college students aged 18-24 years. Methods: The study consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a questionnaire was given to 265 college students. The sample contained 188 males and 77 females. In the second phase, the data pertaining to road accident injuries from March 20, 2007 toMarch 20, 2008 were collected from Bahonar Central Hospital in Kerman, Iran, and analyzed. Results: There were 14.0% of male and 19.0% of female participants traveled belted while driving on urban roads. It indicated that the participants unbelted or using mobile phone were more involved in accidents in last three
years. This study also revealed that 19.0% of male and 4.2% of female drivers considered using mobile phone in driving not hazardous. The highest injury and property damage crash rates were 87 and 137 per 100 000 inhabitants, which occured in male group aged 18-24 years. And 30% of all fatalities were 19-24 years old. Conclusions: More than 50% of college students traveled unbelted. The females were less involved in road accident injuries. The college students aged 18-24 years had the highest percentages of trauma and head injury. Key words: Craniocerebral trauma; Accidents, traffic; Seat belts; Cellular phone Chin J Traumatol 2011; 14(3):165-169
R
oad traffic accidents are one of the major global public health concerns. 1 According to WHO report,2 injury in road traffic crashes (RTCs) is expected to become the third most important cause of the global burden of injuries/diseases by 2020. According to the death registry data from Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran, in 23 out of 28 provinces, road traffic injuries (RTIs) caused 31 800 deaths in 2003, which accounted for 9.9% of total deaths and 17.4% of years of life lost. The death rate due to traffic injuries is 47.8 in 100 000 people in Iran.3
One of the most important variables related to crash risk is the driver’s age. Crash risk is very high among young people. In addition, many people are tested on their limits of strength, agility, skills, fears, etc, in competitive, high risk or high-speed sports and activities. The combination of adolescent age, autonomy and influence of peer groups tends to introduce risktaking and novelty-seeking behaviours which may make the adolescents more vulnerable to injuries.5 It is estimated that over 8 500 young drivers and young passengers were killed in the report of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 2004.6
The analysis of the US accident data also shows that 20% of the drivers were less than 25 years, but their proportion in crash occupants is 3-4 times higher than expected.4
RTIs are one of the biggest and most forgotten challenges to public health, which require a concentrated effort in effective control and prevention.2
DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.1008-1275.2011.03.008 Ind ustrial E ngin eering Depart ment, College of Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman 76175-133, Iran (Mohammadi G) *Corresponding author: Tel/Fax: 98-3412112861, Email: [email protected]
The seat belt is one of the most common protective equipments designed to reduce the deaths or injuries of vehicle occupants in a crash. Seat belt use for drivers and front seat passengers has been a legal requirement in Iran since 2005. Iranian authorities anticipate an improvement in traffic safety with a drop in deaths and injuries due to traffic accidents by enacting seat belt law.
Chinese Journal of Traumatology 2011; 14(3):165-169
. .
Drivers who violate the seat belt laws are likely to violate other traffic rules and regulations (e.g. speeding, red light running, etc.) and thus, have a higher likelihood for accident involvement.7,8 Clark et al9 in UK found that “key themes that would improve safety in all drivers groups are speed control, maintaining safe following distance, and avoiding distraction”.
unbelted and accident types. The drivers were asked about the frequency of seat belt use on urban roads and their previous experience with traffic fines for not wearing seat belt or using mobile phone while driving on urban roads.
Road traffic is a major issue in most cities, including Kerman, Iran. Kerman is one of the 30 provinces of Iran, with an estimated population of 580 000 in 2008. The city of Kerman has about 80% of the urban population, being the most developed and largest city of the province.
Phase II: road traffic injuries As the second part of this study, road accident injury data in one year were collectted from Bahonar Central Hospital in Kerman, Iran, which treated most of the traffic accident injuries in Kerman. Totally, the hospital treated 8 498 road accident injuries from March 2007 to March 2008. The data in young people aged 18-24 years were collected.
Studies were designed to examine the relationship between seat-belt use and road traffic accidents in Kerman, Iran.10,11 The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of mobile phone and seat belt use while driving on urban roads in university students aged 18-24 years and also the crash involvement of belted or unbelted students. The research also investigated the injury and death caused by traffic acccidents among young drivers from 20 March 2007 to 20 March 2008.
Statistical analysis The data were coded and exported from the Excel spreadsheet to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Inc., USA) version 16.00 for statistical analysis. A chi-square test was done on seat belt usage and number of accidents in the past three years to check if the number of accidents was affected due to not using seat belt. P<0.05 was considered as statistical significance.
METHODS Phase I: participants and procedure The participants were all college students (freshman, sophomore, junior and senior) at Azad University of Kerman in Iran. Of the 265 motor vehicle drivers, who entered their cars in a parking lot located in main university entrances, 15 students refused to participate in our survey. All students had driving licenses. The sample contained 179 males (71.6%, 22.72 years±0.23 years) and 71 females (28.8%, 21.89 years±0.69 years). All participants ranged from 18 to 24 years old. According to the law, people over 18 years old are allowed to drive in Iran. As their cars entered the car park, an interviewer observed and recorded the license plates and whether they wore seat belt or not. The research assistant was at the front of car park entrance. All observation was made between 7:30 am to 12:00 am and 13:00 pm to 16:00 pm on workdays for three days. After the drivers had parked, they were invited to answer a tenminute survey. The survey assessed demographic variables related to driving history in the last three years, mobile phone and seat belt use while driving, and whether they had been involved in any incidents when
RESULTS Of these students, 132 males and 37 females had motor vehicle crashes prior to the study. All male and female students reported that they had driving experiences (Table 1). According to the survey, 25% of the male students and only 6% of the female students never wore seat belt; 14% of males and 6% of females pointed out that they sometimes used seat belt while driving on urban roads. Fifteen female participants was once fined for not using seat belts during driving (21.1%). Only 7 males reported that they had never been fined for not using seat belts. The respondents were asked about mobile phone use while driving on urban roads. For this question, 26% of males and 66% of females answered that they never used mobile phones while driving. If we analyzed mobile phone use by gender, the results of a chi-squared test showed that female participants were aware of the risk of mobile phone use while driving in severe traffic accidents(2=226.06, P<0.01).
Chinese Journal of Traumatology 2011; 14(3):165-169
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Table 1. Demographics of the participants Variables
n (%)
Male (%)
Female (%)
Age (years) 18
1 (0.4)
1 (0.4)
0 (0)
19
8 (3.2)
6 (2.4)
2 (0.8)
20
19 (7.9)
14 (5.6)
5 (2.0)
21
37 (14.8)
19 (7.6)
18 (7.0)
22
40 (16.0)
28 (11.2)
12 (4.8)
23
46 (18.4)
24 (9.6)
22 (8.8)
24
99 (39.4)
87 (34.8)
12 (4.8)
Freshman
28 (11.2)
18 (7.2)
10 (4.0)
Sophomore
25 (10.0)
17 (6.8)
8 (3.2)
Junior
67 (26.8)
44 (17.6)
Grade
Senior
130 (52.0) 100 (40.0)
23 (9.2) 30 (12.0)
Driving experience (years) <1
30 (12.0)
10 (4.0)
20 (8.0)
1
55 (22.0)
40 (16.0)
15 (6.0)
2
69 (27.6)
39 (15.6)
30 (12.0)
3
96 (38.4)
90 (36.0)
6 (2.0)
0
45 (18.0)
11 (4.4)
34 (13.6)
1
39 (15.6)
12 (4.8)
27 (10.8)
2-3
60 (24.0)
51 (20.4)
9 (3.6)
4-6
70 (28.0)
69 (27.6)
1 (0.4)
Injury
90 (44.0)
77 (30.8)
Death
10 (4.8)
8 (3.2)
105 (51.2)
93 (37.2)
No. of accidents
Accident types
Property damage
13 (5.2) 2 (0.8) 12 (4.8)
Fined for not using seat belt Yes No
187 (74.8) 172 (96.1)
15 (21.1)
63 (25.2)
7 (3.9)
56 (78.9)
Always
45 (18.0)
19 (11.0)
26 (37.0)
Most of the time
40 (16.0)
28 (11.2)
12 (4.8)
Sometimes
50 (16.0)
35 (14.0)
15 (6.0)
Rarely
37 (14.8)
26 (10.4)
11 (4.4)
Never
78 (31.2)
63 (25.2)
15 (6.0)
37 (14.8)
34 (19.0)
3 (4.2)
Seat belt use
Phone use in driving Not at all A little
42 (16.8)
37 (20.7)
5 (7.0)
Moderately
27 (10.8)
12 (6.70)
12 (21.1)
A lot
52 (20.8)
29 (16.2)
23 (32.4)
Always
92 (36.8)
67 (37.4)
25 (35.2)
Seat belt use and traffic crash The data showed that 85.5% of the male students and 75% of the female students were driving unbelted on urban roads. Chi-square analysis indicated that the difference on the number of accidents in the past three years was also significant between belted and unbelted students (2=62.576, P<0.01). In the present cases, unbelted participant reported to be more involved in accidents in last three years. Gender and accident types Combining self report with the population data in age groups of 18-24 years, the injury, death and property damage crash rates per 100 000 inhabitants was 87, 11, 137 in male groups and 20, 3 and 34 in female groups, respectively. The male group at the age of 1824 years had the highest injury and damage crash rates. Injury, dealth and property damage crash ratios for male to female was 4.3, 4.0 and 4.0, respectively. This indicates considerably higher incidence of injury in males. Statistical analysis between the two sexes indicates that the female participants also have a better safety performance with respect to their involvement in injury, death and property damage crashes compared with males participants in same age group. A total of 245 people died between March 20, 2007 and March 20, 2008 in Kerman city, and among them, 66 (30%, 55 males and 11 females) were 18-24 years old. The remaining fatalities were from other age groups in Kerman city.
DISCUSSION Houston et al12 reported that safety belt use reduces the morbidity and mortality of drivers and passengers in motor vehicle crashes and mandatory seat belt laws are effective in reducing fatal and incapacitating injury rates. Sanaei-Zadeh et al13 showed that due to a lack of seat belt use, the most common cause of death from RTIs in Iran is head injury (49.8%), and they recommended the obligatory use of seat belts. This study found that about 11.0% of males and 37.0% of females traveled belted, lower than 18.2% of males and 64.0% of females reported by Koushki and Bustan.14 This research found that overall about 55.0% of the participants used mobile phone while driving on urban
Chinese Journal of Traumatology 2011; 14(3):165-169
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roads, lower than 81.0% reported by Poysti et al15 and higher than 7.0% reported by Gras et al.16 Drivers using mobile phone or unbelted in driving greatly increased the crash risk, which is in conformity with other studies.10,17-19 This study also revealed that 19.0% of males and 4.2% of females did not consider using mobile phone in driving hazardous. Perceiving hazardousness is necessary. Participants that never use a mobile phone in driving reported this behaviour to be more hazardous than those who do use one. This finding was also reported amongst New Zealand drivers20 and Spanish university workers.16 However, 3.0% of participants (10 males, 5 females) received a fine for using mobile phone in driving.
phone in driving. The female students were also significantly less involved in accidents. The college students aged 18-24 years had the highest percentages of trauma and head injury. In an urban environment, where more than 50% of young drivers travel unbelted, and 49% using mobile phone, the occurrence of road traffic fatalities becomes a natural phenomenon. This finding suggests an advertising campaign should be used to inform young drivers of the effectiveness of seat belts and not using mobile phone in preventing death in RTCs. Stricter law enforcement should be carried out to reduce mobile phone use and unbelted behaviors.
REFERENCES 1. World Health Organization. United Nation road safety
Results showed that 82% of participants reported being involved in crashes while driving on urban roads. The highest rates of injury and property damage crashes were 87 and 137 per 100 000 inhabitants, respectively. Based on other studies, it is noticed that the young age group is more likely to be involved in crashes.21-24 The female participants are also reported to have a better safety performance since they are less involved in crashes compared with males in the same age group.
collaboration: a handbook of partner profiles. Geneva: WHO, 2005: 1-5. 2. World Health Organization. World report on road injury prevention. Geneva: WHO, 2005: 37-39. 3. Naghavi M. Death features in 23 provinces of Iran. Tehran: Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran, 2005: 57-60. 4. Lee B, Schofer J. Restraint use and age and sex characteristics of persons involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes. Washington: Transport Research Board, 2003;10-17. 5. Pan SY, Desmeules M, Morrison H, et al. Adolescent in-
This study showed that about 40% of deaths were in the age group of 18-24 years, and 51% of deaths were caused by trauma and 22% by head injury.
jury deaths and hospitalization in Canada: magnitude and temporal trends (1979- 2003). J Adolesc Health 2007; 41(1):84-92. 6. International Road Traffic and Accident Database. The availability of seat belt wearing data in OECD member countries, 1995.
Several studies have proved that traffic accident is the major cause of injury. The high incidence of multiple injury, morbidity, permanent disability and mortality in traffic accidents indicate the necessity of an urgent change in driving and road safety legislation in Iran.25-28
[EB/OL]. [2004-12-04]. htpp://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/51/ 2104536.pdf. 7. Rathbone D, Huckabee JC. Controlling road rage [EB/OL]. [1999-06-09]. www.aaafoundation.org/ resources/index.cfm /.cfm 8. Koushki PA, Yaseen S, Al-Saleh O. Road traffic violations and seat belt use in Kuwait : a study of driver behavior in motion.
There are some limitations in this study. The participants were all college students at the Azad University of Kerman in Iran. The sample size was quite small (n=250). The data were only collected from Bahonar Central Hospital between 20 March 2007 and 20 March 2008 in age group of 18-24 years.
Washington: Department of Transport of USA, 1998;17-23. 9. Clark D, Ward P, Bartle C, et al. An in-depth study of work-related road traffic accidents. London: Department of Transport of UK, 2006;33. 10. Mohammadi G. The pattern of fatalities by age, seat belt usage and time of day on road accidents. Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot 2009; 16(1): 27-33.
This study investigated the prevalence of mobile phone and seat belt use in university students aged 18-24 years while driving on urban roads, where more than 50% of males travel unbelted, but the majority of females traveled belted. It was also found that more than 35% of males and only 11% of females talked by
11. Mohammadi G. Mobile phone and seat belt usage and its impact on road accident fatalities and injuries in southeast Iran. Int J Crashworthiness 2009; 14(4): 309-314. 12. Houston DJ, Richardson LE Jr. Getting Americans to buckle up: the efficacy of state seat belt laws. Accid Anal Prev 2005; 37(6):1114-1120.
Chinese Journal of Traumatology 2011; 14(3):165-169
13. Sanaei-Zadeh H, Vahabi R, Nazparvar B, et al. An epidemiological study and determination of causes of traffic accidentrelated deaths in Tehran, Iran (during 2000-2001). J Clin Forensic Med 2002; 9(2):74-77. 14. Koushki PA, Bustan M. Smoking, belt use, and road accidents of youth in Kuwait. Safety Science 2006; 44: 733-746. 15. Poysti L, Rajalin S, Summala H. Factors influencing the use of cellular (mobile) phone during driving and hazards while using it. Accid Anal Prev 2005; 37(1): 47-51. 16. Gras ME, Cunill M, Sullman MJ, et al. Mobile phone use while driving in a sample of Spanish university workers. Accid Anal Prev 2007; 39(2):347-355. 17. Redelmeier DA, Tibshirani RJ. Association between cellular telephone calls and motor vehicle collisions. N Engl J Med 1997; 326(7):453-458.
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21. Williams AF. Teenage drivers: patterns of risk. J Safety Res 2003; 34(1):5-15. 22. Ferguson SA, William AL, Williams AF, et al. Differences in young driver crash involvement in states with varying licensure practices. Accid Anal Prev 1996; 28(2):171-180. 23. Preusser DF, Ferguson SA, Williams AF. The effect of teenage passengers on the fatal crash risk of teenage drivers. Accid Anal Prev 1998; 30(2):217-222. 24. Yagil D. Gender and age-related differences in attitudes towards traffic laws and traffic violations. Transport Res 1998; 1 (2):123-135. 25. Montazeri A. Road-traffic-related mortality in Iran: a descriptive study. Public Health 2004; 118(2): 110-113. 26. Ghahri-Saremi S, Soroush AR, Rambod M. Pattern of injury in Shiraz. Chin J Traumatol 2008; 11(1):8-11.
18. Laberge-Nadeau C, Maag U, Bellavance F, et al. Wireless
27. Khaji A, Eftekhar B. Announcement of the Sina Trauma
telephones and the risk of road crashes. Accid Anal Prev 2003; 35
Data Bank (STDB). East Mediterr Health J 2006; 12(6):930-931.
(5): 649-660. 19. Violanti JM, Marshall JR. Cellular phones and traffic accidents: an epidemiological approach. Accid Anal Prev 1996; 28
28. Mohammadi G. Road traffic fatalities among pedestrians, bicyclists and motor vehicle occupants in Sirjan, Kerman, Iran. Chin J Traumatol 2009; 12(4):200-202.
(2):265-270. 20. Sullman MJ, Baas PH. Mobile phone use amongst New Zealand drivers. Transport Res 2004; 7(2):95-105.
(Received July 13, 2010) Edited by LIU Jun-lan
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Prevalence of seat belt and mobile phone use and road accident injuries amongst college students in Kerman, Iran Ghorbanali Mohammadi* AbstractObjective: To investigate the prevalence of mobile phone and seat belt use in driving in college students aged 18-24 years. Methods: The study consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a questionnaire was given to 265 college students. The sample contained 188 males and 77 females. In the second phase, the data pertaining to road accident injuries from March 20, 2007 toMarch 20, 2008 were collected from Bahonar Central Hospital in Kerman, Iran, and analyzed. Results: There were 14.0% of male and 19.0% of female participants traveled belted while driving on urban roads. It indicated that the participants unbelted or using mobile phone were more involved in accidents in last three
years. This study also revealed that 19.0% of male and 4.2% of female drivers considered using mobile phone in driving not hazardous. The highest injury and property damage crash rates were 87 and 137 per 100 000 inhabitants, which occured in male group aged 18-24 years. And 30% of all fatalities were 19-24 years old. Conclusions: More than 50% of college students traveled unbelted. The females were less involved in road accident injuries. The college students aged 18-24 years had the highest percentages of trauma and head injury. Key words: Craniocerebral trauma; Accidents, traffic; Seat belts; Cellular phone Chin J Traumatol 2011; 14(3):165-169
R
oad traffic accidents are one of the major global public health concerns. 1 According to WHO report,2 injury in road traffic crashes (RTCs) is expected to become the third most important cause of the global burden of injuries/diseases by 2020. According to the death registry data from Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran, in 23 out of 28 provinces, road traffic injuries (RTIs) caused 31 800 deaths in 2003, which accounted for 9.9% of total deaths and 17.4% of years of life lost. The death rate due to traffic injuries is 47.8 in 100 000 people in Iran.3
One of the most important variables related to crash risk is the driver’s age. Crash risk is very high among young people. In addition, many people are tested on their limits of strength, agility, skills, fears, etc, in competitive, high risk or high-speed sports and activities. The combination of adolescent age, autonomy and influence of peer groups tends to introduce risktaking and novelty-seeking behaviours which may make the adolescents more vulnerable to injuries.5 It is estimated that over 8 500 young drivers and young passengers were killed in the report of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 2004.6
The analysis of the US accident data also shows that 20% of the drivers were less than 25 years, but their proportion in crash occupants is 3-4 times higher than expected.4
RTIs are one of the biggest and most forgotten challenges to public health, which require a concentrated effort in effective control and prevention.2
DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.1008-1275.2011.03.008 Ind ustrial E ngin eering Depart ment, College of Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman 76175-133, Iran (Mohammadi G) *Corresponding author: Tel/Fax: 98-3412112861, Email: [email protected]
The seat belt is one of the most common protective equipments designed to reduce the deaths or injuries of vehicle occupants in a crash. Seat belt use for drivers and front seat passengers has been a legal requirement in Iran since 2005. Iranian authorities anticipate an improvement in traffic safety with a drop in deaths and injuries due to traffic accidents by enacting seat belt law.
Chinese Journal of Traumatology 2011; 14(3):165-169
. .
Drivers who violate the seat belt laws are likely to violate other traffic rules and regulations (e.g. speeding, red light running, etc.) and thus, have a higher likelihood for accident involvement.7,8 Clark et al9 in UK found that “key themes that would improve safety in all drivers groups are speed control, maintaining safe following distance, and avoiding distraction”.
unbelted and accident types. The drivers were asked about the frequency of seat belt use on urban roads and their previous experience with traffic fines for not wearing seat belt or using mobile phone while driving on urban roads.
Road traffic is a major issue in most cities, including Kerman, Iran. Kerman is one of the 30 provinces of Iran, with an estimated population of 580 000 in 2008. The city of Kerman has about 80% of the urban population, being the most developed and largest city of the province.
Phase II: road traffic injuries As the second part of this study, road accident injury data in one year were collectted from Bahonar Central Hospital in Kerman, Iran, which treated most of the traffic accident injuries in Kerman. Totally, the hospital treated 8 498 road accident injuries from March 2007 to March 2008. The data in young people aged 18-24 years were collected.
Studies were designed to examine the relationship between seat-belt use and road traffic accidents in Kerman, Iran.10,11 The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of mobile phone and seat belt use while driving on urban roads in university students aged 18-24 years and also the crash involvement of belted or unbelted students. The research also investigated the injury and death caused by traffic acccidents among young drivers from 20 March 2007 to 20 March 2008.
Statistical analysis The data were coded and exported from the Excel spreadsheet to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Inc., USA) version 16.00 for statistical analysis. A chi-square test was done on seat belt usage and number of accidents in the past three years to check if the number of accidents was affected due to not using seat belt. P<0.05 was considered as statistical significance.
METHODS Phase I: participants and procedure The participants were all college students (freshman, sophomore, junior and senior) at Azad University of Kerman in Iran. Of the 265 motor vehicle drivers, who entered their cars in a parking lot located in main university entrances, 15 students refused to participate in our survey. All students had driving licenses. The sample contained 179 males (71.6%, 22.72 years±0.23 years) and 71 females (28.8%, 21.89 years±0.69 years). All participants ranged from 18 to 24 years old. According to the law, people over 18 years old are allowed to drive in Iran. As their cars entered the car park, an interviewer observed and recorded the license plates and whether they wore seat belt or not. The research assistant was at the front of car park entrance. All observation was made between 7:30 am to 12:00 am and 13:00 pm to 16:00 pm on workdays for three days. After the drivers had parked, they were invited to answer a tenminute survey. The survey assessed demographic variables related to driving history in the last three years, mobile phone and seat belt use while driving, and whether they had been involved in any incidents when
RESULTS Of these students, 132 males and 37 females had motor vehicle crashes prior to the study. All male and female students reported that they had driving experiences (Table 1). According to the survey, 25% of the male students and only 6% of the female students never wore seat belt; 14% of males and 6% of females pointed out that they sometimes used seat belt while driving on urban roads. Fifteen female participants was once fined for not using seat belts during driving (21.1%). Only 7 males reported that they had never been fined for not using seat belts. The respondents were asked about mobile phone use while driving on urban roads. For this question, 26% of males and 66% of females answered that they never used mobile phones while driving. If we analyzed mobile phone use by gender, the results of a chi-squared test showed that female participants were aware of the risk of mobile phone use while driving in severe traffic accidents(2=226.06, P<0.01).
Chinese Journal of Traumatology 2011; 14(3):165-169
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Table 1. Demographics of the participants Variables
n (%)
Male (%)
Female (%)
Age (years) 18
1 (0.4)
1 (0.4)
0 (0)
19
8 (3.2)
6 (2.4)
2 (0.8)
20
19 (7.9)
14 (5.6)
5 (2.0)
21
37 (14.8)
19 (7.6)
18 (7.0)
22
40 (16.0)
28 (11.2)
12 (4.8)
23
46 (18.4)
24 (9.6)
22 (8.8)
24
99 (39.4)
87 (34.8)
12 (4.8)
Freshman
28 (11.2)
18 (7.2)
10 (4.0)
Sophomore
25 (10.0)
17 (6.8)
8 (3.2)
Junior
67 (26.8)
44 (17.6)
Grade
Senior
130 (52.0) 100 (40.0)
23 (9.2) 30 (12.0)
Driving experience (years) <1
30 (12.0)
10 (4.0)
20 (8.0)
1
55 (22.0)
40 (16.0)
15 (6.0)
2
69 (27.6)
39 (15.6)
30 (12.0)
3
96 (38.4)
90 (36.0)
6 (2.0)
0
45 (18.0)
11 (4.4)
34 (13.6)
1
39 (15.6)
12 (4.8)
27 (10.8)
2-3
60 (24.0)
51 (20.4)
9 (3.6)
4-6
70 (28.0)
69 (27.6)
1 (0.4)
Injury
90 (44.0)
77 (30.8)
Death
10 (4.8)
8 (3.2)
105 (51.2)
93 (37.2)
No. of accidents
Accident types
Property damage
13 (5.2) 2 (0.8) 12 (4.8)
Fined for not using seat belt Yes No
187 (74.8) 172 (96.1)
15 (21.1)
63 (25.2)
7 (3.9)
56 (78.9)
Always
45 (18.0)
19 (11.0)
26 (37.0)
Most of the time
40 (16.0)
28 (11.2)
12 (4.8)
Sometimes
50 (16.0)
35 (14.0)
15 (6.0)
Rarely
37 (14.8)
26 (10.4)
11 (4.4)
Never
78 (31.2)
63 (25.2)
15 (6.0)
37 (14.8)
34 (19.0)
3 (4.2)
Seat belt use
Phone use in driving Not at all A little
42 (16.8)
37 (20.7)
5 (7.0)
Moderately
27 (10.8)
12 (6.70)
12 (21.1)
A lot
52 (20.8)
29 (16.2)
23 (32.4)
Always
92 (36.8)
67 (37.4)
25 (35.2)
Seat belt use and traffic crash The data showed that 85.5% of the male students and 75% of the female students were driving unbelted on urban roads. Chi-square analysis indicated that the difference on the number of accidents in the past three years was also significant between belted and unbelted students (2=62.576, P<0.01). In the present cases, unbelted participant reported to be more involved in accidents in last three years. Gender and accident types Combining self report with the population data in age groups of 18-24 years, the injury, death and property damage crash rates per 100 000 inhabitants was 87, 11, 137 in male groups and 20, 3 and 34 in female groups, respectively. The male group at the age of 1824 years had the highest injury and damage crash rates. Injury, dealth and property damage crash ratios for male to female was 4.3, 4.0 and 4.0, respectively. This indicates considerably higher incidence of injury in males. Statistical analysis between the two sexes indicates that the female participants also have a better safety performance with respect to their involvement in injury, death and property damage crashes compared with males participants in same age group. A total of 245 people died between March 20, 2007 and March 20, 2008 in Kerman city, and among them, 66 (30%, 55 males and 11 females) were 18-24 years old. The remaining fatalities were from other age groups in Kerman city.
DISCUSSION Houston et al12 reported that safety belt use reduces the morbidity and mortality of drivers and passengers in motor vehicle crashes and mandatory seat belt laws are effective in reducing fatal and incapacitating injury rates. Sanaei-Zadeh et al13 showed that due to a lack of seat belt use, the most common cause of death from RTIs in Iran is head injury (49.8%), and they recommended the obligatory use of seat belts. This study found that about 11.0% of males and 37.0% of females traveled belted, lower than 18.2% of males and 64.0% of females reported by Koushki and Bustan.14 This research found that overall about 55.0% of the participants used mobile phone while driving on urban
Chinese Journal of Traumatology 2011; 14(3):165-169
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roads, lower than 81.0% reported by Poysti et al15 and higher than 7.0% reported by Gras et al.16 Drivers using mobile phone or unbelted in driving greatly increased the crash risk, which is in conformity with other studies.10,17-19 This study also revealed that 19.0% of males and 4.2% of females did not consider using mobile phone in driving hazardous. Perceiving hazardousness is necessary. Participants that never use a mobile phone in driving reported this behaviour to be more hazardous than those who do use one. This finding was also reported amongst New Zealand drivers20 and Spanish university workers.16 However, 3.0% of participants (10 males, 5 females) received a fine for using mobile phone in driving.
phone in driving. The female students were also significantly less involved in accidents. The college students aged 18-24 years had the highest percentages of trauma and head injury. In an urban environment, where more than 50% of young drivers travel unbelted, and 49% using mobile phone, the occurrence of road traffic fatalities becomes a natural phenomenon. This finding suggests an advertising campaign should be used to inform young drivers of the effectiveness of seat belts and not using mobile phone in preventing death in RTCs. Stricter law enforcement should be carried out to reduce mobile phone use and unbelted behaviors.
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Results showed that 82% of participants reported being involved in crashes while driving on urban roads. The highest rates of injury and property damage crashes were 87 and 137 per 100 000 inhabitants, respectively. Based on other studies, it is noticed that the young age group is more likely to be involved in crashes.21-24 The female participants are also reported to have a better safety performance since they are less involved in crashes compared with males in the same age group.
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This study investigated the prevalence of mobile phone and seat belt use in university students aged 18-24 years while driving on urban roads, where more than 50% of males travel unbelted, but the majority of females traveled belted. It was also found that more than 35% of males and only 11% of females talked by
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(Received July 13, 2010) Edited by LIU Jun-lan