title: Epidemiological Patterns of Road Traffic Crashes During the Last Two Decades in Iran: A Review of the Literature from 1996 to 2014.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite considerable attention given to health statistics of road traffic crashes (RTCs), the epidemiological aspects of injuries resulting from RTCs are not fully understood in Iran and other developing countries. The aim of this review was to study the epidemiological pattern and issues arising due to RTCs in Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  The scope of this study involves data from a broad range of published literature on RTCs in Iran. Data collection for this study was conducted by searching for keywords such as traffic accidents, traffic crashes, motorcycle accidents, motorcycle crashes, motorcycle injury, motor vehicle injury, motor vehicle crashes and motor vehicle accidents, Iran and Iranian in various databases such as Embase, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Magiran, Iranian scientific information database (SID) and IranMedex.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study comprised of 95 articles. It is evident from this review that a large number of severe RTCs occur due to collision of two or more vehicles and most of the victims are males aged between 30 and 39 years. Male pedestrian, drivers and passengers are more likely to be severely injured in comparison to females. One of the most prevalent causes of death among adults involved in the RTCs are head injuries and the majority of deaths occur prior to hospitalization. Mortality rates for RTCs are higher in summer, especially during midnight among all age groups. The most common individual and environmental risk factors associated with RTCs include lack of attention, getting trapped in the car, listening to music, fatigue and sleepiness, duration and distance and negligence of seatbelt usage while driving.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of the current study will be beneficial in prevention of RTCs and its associated complications and hence will be vital for policy makers, health service managers and stakeholders.
authors: Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran; Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Homayoun
authors: H
authors: Sadeghi-Bazargani
authors: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors: Erfan
authors: E
authors: Ayubi
authors: Department of Health Services Management, Iranian Center of Excellence in Health Management, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran.
authors: Saber
authors: S
authors: Azami-Aghdash
authors: Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran.
authors: Leila
authors: L
authors: Abedi
authors: Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran.
authors: Alireza
authors: A
authors: Zemestani
authors: Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran.
authors: Louiz
authors: L
authors: Amanati
authors: Health Sciences Research Center, Faculty of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
authors: Mahmood
authors: M
authors: Moosazadeh
authors: School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
authors: Naeema
authors: N
authors: Syedi
authors: Managerial Epidemiology Research Center, Department of Public Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, IR Iran; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors: Saeid
authors: S
authors: Safiri
keywords: Epidemiological Studies; Iran, Injuries; Prevention; Road Traffic Crashes