Motor vehicle collisions involving adult pedestrians in eThekwini in 2007

Abstract

Motor vehicle collisions involving adult pedestrians are an important cause of injury in South Africa. Using the eThekwini Transport Authority Database for 2007, the data about collisions involving pedestrians over the age of 15 years in the eThekwini metropolitan area were analysed. The incidence risk and proportions were calculated for risk factors involving pedestrians, drivers and the environment. Male pedestrians aged 25–34 years were at highest risk of injury compared to other male pedestrians (incidence risk ratio (IRR): 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.26–1.48). The group with the highest fatality risk was males aged 50–54 years (IRR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.04–2.67). Male drivers had a greater than seven times risk of involvement in pedestrian collisions when compared to females. The highest proportion of fatal pedestrian collisions involved trucks, occurred on freeways, in wet conditions and at night in unlit conditions. The findings point to the need to (a) improve pedestrian visibility and (b) implement engineering interventions to protect adult pedestrians. Enforcement should target high-risk drivers and pedestrians. For the first time in research involving road traffic injuries, this study provides an overall picture of both fatal and non-fatal pedestrian collisions in a South African municipality.

Keywords:

• adult pedestrian
• developing country
• epidemiology
• motor vehicle collision

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Preeta Hirjee (Road Safety: Supervisor), Ashok Nansook (Road Safety: Manager) and Logan Moodley (Deputy Head: Strategic Transport Planning, eThekwini Transport Authority) for assistance and use of the eThekwini Transport Authority database. They thank the MRC-UNISA Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programme for the use of the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System database. For advice about the analysis of the data, the authors thank Tonya Esterhuizen (Biostatistician, University of KwaZulu-Natal). They are grateful to Dr. Colleen Aldous (Medical Writer, University of KwaZulu-Natal) for assistance in writing this article.

Notes

1. The case fatality was calculated by dividing the number of fatalities by the number of fatal and non-fatal injuries and expressing this as a percentage.