Citation

Meel BL. Med. Sci. Law 2007; 47(1): 64-68.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, British Academy of Forensic Sciences, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article reports on a study of trends in fatal motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) in the rural Transkei region of South Africa. The author conducted a retrospective review and analysis of all medical or legal autopsies (n = 6181) between January 1993 and December 1999. Of these, 39% of the traumatic deaths (1778 of 4525 total traumatic deaths) were a result of an MVA. During the seven-year period (January 1993-December 1999), MVA deaths in Transkei region accounted for an average of 63 deaths per 100,000 population per year. This figure reached a high of 80 deaths per 100,000 in 1997, and then slowly came down to 48 deaths per 100,000 in 1999. The male/female ratio was 3.3:1; and 50% of the victims were between 21 and 40 years of age. The author considers the factors contributing to these high rates, including excessive speed, use of alcohol, poor highway maintenance and repair, highway design (many curves), poor driving skills, lack of seat belt use, use of vehicles that are not roadworthy, poor emergency services and hospital care, and lack of public transportation. The author comments particularly on the use of alcohol, which is also indicated in the pedestrian death rates (47% of drivers and 72% of pedestrians who died had blood alcohol levels exceeding the legal limit). The author concludes that there are high motor vehicle accident-related deaths in Transkei region of South Africa, a situation that warrants a concentrated public health effort to address.