Two wheeler accidents on Indian roads - a study from Mangalore, India

Introduction: The alarming increase in mortality and morbidity owing to road traffic accidents has been a matter of great concern globally. This study was undertaken to find the trend of two wheeler accidents over the five years (2000-2004) with respect to age and sex of the victim, type of injury sustained, type of vehicle involved and time distribution of accidents. Methods: Data was retrospectively collected from the records at the Regional Transport Authority's office, office of superintendent of police and also from both the Traffic police stations of the Mangalore city. Results were tabulated and the analysis was done using SPSS version 10. Test of significance was applied and p value <0.05 was taken to be significant. Results: A total of 1231 two wheeler accidents were recorded during 2000-2004. Majority (77%) of the victims were in the age group 18-44 years. Accident rate among males (83%) was higher than that among females (17%). Five percent of the victims (n = 75) succumbed to injuries, of whom 45 died on the spot. Geared vehicles (81%) were more commonly involved than those without gears. Highest number of accidents was seen during 6-10 pm. Conclusion: There is considerable morbidity and mortality due to two wheeler road traffic accidents. Among the fatalities majority died at the spot. Hence first aid measures at the spot would be of great help. It is recommended to have a good support system and para medical training for the people manning the ambulance. Awareness should be created among general public. Besides, every road traffic injury case has medicolegal elements involved. In India, as per law, every road traffic injury case is registered as a medicolegal case and investigated for prosecution concerns and compensation needs.