title: Effectiveness of an improved road safety policy in Ethiopia: an interrupted time series study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in implementing road safety policy by different low income countries. However; the evidence is scarce on its success in the reduction of crashes, injuries and deaths. This study was conducted to assess whether road crashes, injuries and fatalities was reduced following the road safety regulation introduced as of September 2007 by Oromia Regional State Transport Bureau.
  
  
  METHODS
  Routine road traffic accident data for the year 2002-2011were collected from sixteen traffic police offices. Data on average daily vehicle flow was obtained from the Ethiopian Road Authority. Interrupted time series design using segmented linear regression model was applied to estimate the effect of an improved road safety policy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 4,053 crashes occurred on Addis Ababa - Adama/Hawassa main road. Of these crashes, almost half 46.4% (1,880) were property damage, 29.4% (1,193) were fatal and 24.2% (980) injury crashes, resulting 1,392 fatalities and 1,749 injuries. There were statistically significant reductions in non-injury crashes and deaths. Non-injury crash was reduced by 19% and fatality by 12.4% in the first year of implementing the revised transport safety regulation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although revised road safety policy helped in reducing motor vehicle crashes and associated fatalities, the overall incidence rate is still very high. Further action is required to avoid unnecessary loss of lives.
authors.affiliation: School of Public and Environmental Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia. tefabeg@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Teferi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abegaz
authors.forename: Yemane
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Berhane
authors.forename: Alemayehu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Worku
authors.forename: Abebe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Assrat
mesh_terms: D000056:Accident Prevention / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D065186:Interrupted Time Series Analysis; D011640:Public Policy