Vulnerable road users are at greater risk during Ramadan -- results from road traffic surveillance data.
OBJECTIVE
To assess how the frequency, nature and outcome of road traffic crashes differ during the fasting month of Ramadan.


METHODS
The retrospective study was conducted in Karachi and comprised data from the Road Traffic Injury Surveillance Project which entailed information on all road traffic injury victims presenting to Emergency Departments in the city between September 2006 and September 2011. Data was analysed to find the frequency of road traffic crashes according to time of incident, road user group and survival. Ramadan and Non-Ramadan groups were compared with respect to time and frequency of incidents, road user group and mortality. SPSS 16 was used for statistical analysis.


RESULTS
There were 163,022 subjects from whom 13,640(8.36%) came during Ramadan and 149,382 (91.6%) during the non-Ramadan months. Frequency of road traffic crashes did not change significantly during Ramadan, but was clustered around the breaking of Fast and the Taravih prayers. The most commonly affected road user group was motorbike riders followed by pedestrians. Overall survival of the RTI victims was 96.1% with a mortality rate of 4.1% which was higher than the figure of 3.5% in the non-Ramadan period.


CONCLUSIONS
Vulnerable road users were more frequently involved in road traffic injuries during Ramadan. Moreover, the frequency of crashes increased around evening which requires more careful planning of traffic controls, especially for the vulnerable road users.
Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Amber
A
Mehmood
Department of Microbiology, Army Medical College Rawalpindi, National University of Sciences and Technology Islamabad, Pakistan.
Irum Qamar
IQ
Khan
Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Mohammad Umer
MU
Mir
Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Anoosh
A
Moin
Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University, and Road Traffic Injury Research & Prevention Centre, JPMC, Karachi, Pakistan.
Rashid
R
Jooma
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005215:Fasting; D005260:Female; D006693:Holidays / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009049:Motorcycles; D010154:Pakistan; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016138:Walking; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D055815:Young Adult
Ramadan, Road traffic injuries, Mortality, Surveillance, Pakistan.