Epidemiological survey of fatal road traffic accident in Imphal, Manipur

Background: Approximately 1.3 million people die each year as a result of road traffic accidents (RTAs). According to the National Crime Record Bureau, a total of 368,828 traffic accidents were reported in the country in 2020, and out of these, 96% of the cases were due to RTAs with 354,796 cases and 37% fatality. Objectives: The objective is to study the demographic profile of victims of fatal road accidents. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the department of forensic medicine of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Imphal on all cases of fatal RTA brought in between October 2015 and September 2018. All data including the postmortem findings were analyzed and presented. Results: Out of 478 medicolegal autopsies conducted during the study period, 159 (33.3%) were vehicular accident fatalities. The majority of the victims were males in the age group of >20–30 years (22.64%) and pedestrians (30.82%). Most of the accidents (40.88%) occurred during the afternoon period between 12 Noon and 6 PM and in the winter months (50.9%), with maximum cases occurring on national highways (55.3%). The cause of death of the victims was due to head injuries in 42.14%. Conclusions: Several factors are responsible for RTAs. There is clearly a need for road safety education among road users. The licensing authorities should adopt stricter, more comprehensive, and scientifically based test.