title: Host, vehicular and environmental factors responsible for road traffic crashes in a Nigerian city: identifiable issues for road traffic injury control.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Road traffic injury (RTI) has assumed major public health importance world-wide and the burden is heavier on the health-care infrastructure of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, RTI is the leading cause of trauma related morbidity and mortality. While there are some published epidemiological reports on RTI in the region, studies on the mechanism of causation of road traffic crashes (RTC) are not available.
  
  
  METHODS
  Over a 9-month period, we prospectively captured the 571 victims of RTC presenting to a single tertiary health care center in Nigeria. Data collected include demographic data, Mechanism of causation of RTC, Injuries sustained and outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over three-quarters of the victims are young people and half were either traders (27.5%) or students (20%). Pedestrians, motorcycle riders and open truck occupants (people sitting at the rear loading compartment of trucks) often had fatal injuries. Analysis of collision patterns showed that lone crashes were the most frequent though car-to-motorcycle crashes caused a quarter of the deaths. Host factors (over-speeding driver, driver misjudgment, sleeping driver etc.) were responsible for four-fifths of the crashes while vehicular and environmental factors accounted for the remaining. On binary regression analysis, head injured victims had higher odds of dying than the non-head injured (Odds ratio = 6.5).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This paper elucidates the mechanisms of causation of and types of injuries sustained following RTC in Nigeria and thus provide opportunities for prevention and control of this unacceptable situation.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Injury Research and Safety Promotion (CIRASP), Department of Surgery, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Peter Oladapo
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Adeoye
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Dotun Musiliu
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Kadri
authors.affiliation: Centre for Injury Research and Safety Promotion (CIRASP), Department of Surgery, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Jibril Oyekunle
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Bello
authors.affiliation: Centre for Injury Research and Safety Promotion (CIRASP), Department of Surgery, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Chima Kingsley Pascal
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Ofoegbu
authors.affiliation: Centre for Injury Research and Safety Promotion (CIRASP), Department of Surgery, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Lukman Olajide
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Abdur-Rahman
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Federal Medical Centre, Bida, Niger State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Adedeji Olugbenga
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Adekanye
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja Lagos State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Babatunde Akeeb
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Solagberu
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Road traffic injury; crash mechanisms; road traffic crash