Risky Driving Behaviors in Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Objective: Iran has one of the highest fatality rates due to road traffic crashes (RTC) in the world. The disability adjusted life years (DALYs) for RTC in Iran is more than 1,300,000 years, which is more than that for any other disease such as cardiovascular or cancer. We evaluated risky driving behaviors in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted based on the data obtained from the Tehran Police Safety Driving Department. Offenses and crashes were studied in different municipal districts in Tehran from March 2006 to March 2007. The inclusion criteria were risky driving behaviors fined by the police. Nonbehavioral offences were excluded.

Results: There were 3,821,798 offenses in Tehran. Not wearing a seat belt was the most common (59%) example of risky driving behavior, followed by tailgating, not wearing motorcycle helmets, talking on the cell phone while driving, overtaking from the wrong side, speeding, not driving between the lanes, weaving in and out of traffic, left deviation, and changing lanes without signals. The most common causes of RTC in Tehran are speeding, overtaking from the wrong side, and the rapid changing of driving lanes.

Conclusions: The study factors effective in preventing risky driving behaviors in Tehran is recommended. The consideration of specific characteristics of the municipal districts is necessary to reduce risky driving behaviors.

Keywords:

• Risky driving behaviors
• RTC
• Municipal districts
• Tehran

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We appreciate the assistance of Bita Pourmand for editing of the manuscript.

Notes

*Total number of offenses in all districts.