| This epidemiological study about road traffic accidents was conducted in the victims who received treatment in Yasothorn hospital during July 1 – December 31, 2007. The data were collected through interviewing 597 samples. Victims were male more than female by the ratio of 3:2. Majority of victims were 10-19 years old (27.8%) and were students (27.2%). The numbers of patients with below college degree were highest (86.4%). The accidents were frequently occurred around 4 pm to 8 pm (34.8%) and on Saturday (17.8%). The month with highest accident rate was on November (28.5%). Places outside the community were where accidents occurred the most (44.1%). Accidents occurred most often on macadamized roads (47.7%), smooth-surfaced roads (63.1%), and straight paths (44.7%). The vehicle mostly involved in accidents was motorcycle (80.4%). The accidents were mainly not involved with other vehicles (57.1%). The causes of accidents were basically from fast driving (41.3%) followed by drinking (33.3%). For problems from vehicles, the major cause of accident was from the inefficiency of brake (57.7%). In terms of safety while driving, it was found that (68.6%) of samples had no apparatus or equipment for safety protection. Only (28.7%) were found with seat belt and helmet. In total, there were (94.1%) injured cases, (4.1%) handicapped and (1.8%) death. The major part of body which was accidentally injured was head, face and neck (45.8%) and most of the wounds was from scrapes (70.1%). The treatment cost was mostly below 5,000 baht while the lowest and highest treatment cost were 87 baht and 130,999 baht, respectively. The insurance used by most victims was compulsory or the third type of insurance under the Traffic Accident Victim Protection Act (72.5%). Moreover, the factors significantly related to accidents were age and educational level (p-value <0.05) |