Author(s): Banwari Meel
Background: Deaths caused by road traffic accidents (RTA) are a serious public health problem all over the world. The South African government has been trying hard to bring its incidence down, but still it remains a major health problem. The Transkei region is a rural part of South Africa where the RTA death toll has consistently been higher than in the urban areas of South Africa.
Objective: To study the trend in deaths related to Road Traffic Accidents in the Transkei sub-region of South Africa (1993-2015).
Method: An autopsy record review study at the Forensic Pathology Laboratory at Mthatha over a period of 23 years (1993-2015).
Results: Over a period of 23 years (1993-2015), 26 855 autopsies were conducted at the Forensic Pathology Laboratory in Mthatha; 6 620 (24.65%) of these deaths were related to RTA. The average number of RTA deaths was 45.9 per 100,000 of the population per year, of which the majority (72.12%) were males. The rate of MVA-related death has decreased from 62 per 100,000 of the population in 1993 to 41.6 per 100,000 in 2015. The male-to-female ratio was 3:1. The highest number of MVA deaths, 1 215 (20.75%), occurred among males between 21 and 30 years, while among females the number in this age group was 298 (5.08%) between 1996 and 2015.
Conclusion: There is a decreasing trend of road traffic fatalities, but it is still at a very high level in the Transkei sub-region of South Africa. Every fourth (25%) victim of non-natural death is related with RTA. This situation needs to be addressed urgently.
