Determinants of fatal car accident risk in Finote Selam town, Northwest Ethiopia

Tadege, Melaku · 2020 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-08760-z

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Summary

This study investigates the determinants of fatal car accident risk in Finote Selam, a town in Northwest Ethiopia, addressing the significant public health burden of road traffic accidents (RTAs) in low- and middle-income countries. With Ethiopia experiencing high fatality rates and limited road safety policies, the research aimed to identify specific predictors of fatal outcomes to inform targeted interventions. The researchers employed a retrospective study design, analyzing secondary data from 255 RTA records obtained from the Finote Selam traffic police office between September 2009 and January 2018. The outcome variable was categorized into slight injury, serious injury, and fatal accident. Predictor variables included driver demographics (age, sex, educational level, experience), vehicle characteristics (service year, type, ownership), and environmental factors (season, day of week, light conditions). Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 23, utilizing Chi-square tests for associations and ordinal logistic regression to identify significant predictors of fatal accidents. The results indicated that 23.5% of the recorded accidents were fatal. Multivariable analysis revealed several significant determinants. Driver age was a protective factor, with each additional year of age decreasing the likelihood of a fatal accident by 0.96 times (p=0.033). Similarly, increased driving experience reduced fatal accident risk by 0.91 times per year (p=0.005), and older vehicle service years reduced risk by 0.90 times per year (p=0.011). Educational level was a critical risk factor; drivers with education below grade 12 were 1.89 times more likely to be involved in fatal accidents compared to those with grade 12 or above (p=0.042). Temporal factors also played a significant role: accidents occurring on weekends were 2.74 times more likely to be fatal than those on weekdays (p=0.001), and summer season accidents were significantly more likely to be fatal compared to autumn (p=0.019). Additionally, drivers operating their own vehicles had a 0.39 times lower risk of fatal accidents compared to employed drivers (p=0.010), and daylight driving increased fatal risk by 2.36 times compared to night driving (p=0.030). The study concludes that fatal RTAs in Finote Selam are primarily driven by driver inexperience, younger age, low educational attainment, and specific temporal conditions such as weekends and summer seasons. The findings suggest that owner-drivers are less likely to cause fatal accidents than employed drivers, potentially due to greater familiarity with their vehicles. The authors recommend enhanced traffic police presence on weekends, stricter licensing regulations regarding age and experience, and comprehensive annual driver examinations. They also highlight the need for broader national studies to address data limitations regarding factors like alcohol use and vehicle defects, which were not captured in this dataset.

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Topics

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• demographic disparities
• comparative international