Fatal road traffic accidents in Mauritius (2006 – 2011) – A retrospective study

Abstract

Road traffic injuries are the leading case of death worldwide. It is a real public health challenge for all the concerned agencies in reducing the number of road accidents. Road traffic accidents are becoming alarming in Mauritius and the present study was carried out to analyze the trends of fatal road traffic accidents in Mauritius from January 2006 to December 2011. The data was reviewed from the records of Traffic Management and Road Safety Unit, and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport and Shipping with ethics clearance obtained from the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life. A total of seven hundred and seventy seven (777) fatal road traffic accidents were reported during the study period. The road traffic accidents involving male drivers outnumbered those of female drivers. Most of the fatalities recorded occurred during weekends (35.26%), especially on Sundays. About half of the cases (51%) belonged to 16 – 44 years age group. Pedestrians and riders comprised of 63.4% of all the victims of fatal accidents. Given that young and productive males and females that can contribute the economic growth of a nation lose their lives unnecessarily in road traffic accidents, the outcome of this study can help the planners to take safety measures, to implement strict traffic rules, to risk stratification in the susceptible population and to educate the people regarding road safety measures.

Keywords: Road traffic accidents; Gender; Age; Road users; Road safety measures; Public health challenge; Retrospective study; Mauritius