Road traffic collisions leading to human casualties in Riyadh: a retrospective study

Abstract This research work aims to analyse aspects related to motor vehicle collisions resulting in human casualties in Riyadh from September 2015 to February 2017. Detailed data were collected on collisions from several sources including traffic police, hospitals, ambulance service, motor vehicle periodic inspection and Arriyadh Development Authority records and involved vehicles were inspected. The final database consisted of 295 collisions involving 331 vehicles, 596 casualties and 2,454 injuries with AIS ≥ 1. Results show that only 15.1% of all vehicle occupants were wearing seatbelts at the time of collision which is reflected in having most injuries occurring to upper parts of the body and the spine. It is also reflected in a high incidence rate of 0.22 fatality per collision. The average age of casualties was 33 years with three quarters of them being males. Results also show that human behaviour, like reckless driving, over speeding and sudden deviations from lane, were the causes of most collisions. Results indicate that it is imperative to foster a change in culture among all road users in order to improve traffic safety conditions.