Time Distribution of Traffic Accidents in Shiraz, Iran, During 2017-2018

Introduction: Trauma is an important and inevitable part of the health of the community. The incidence rate of accidents in Fars province is high. Identifying the patterns of traffic accidents and reporting them to authorities to prevent and control more accidents can be helpful. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, information about traffic accidents in Shiraz from 21 March 2017 to 20 March 2018 was used; also, information about 35406 emergency calls was investigated. The variables studied included age, gender, holiday, time of traffic accidents, outcome, etc. Data were extracted as an Excel file and analyzed according to research hypotheses using SPSS software version 25. In order to test the hypothesis of the test, two independent sample t-tests or chi-square tests were used. A p value of 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: The maximum number of accidents occurred in summer (10939) and in September (3797). From the days of the week, most accidents occurred on Thursday (15. 09%). The most accidents occurred at 16:00 to 20:00 p.m. At 00:00 to 04:00 a.m. and 04:00 to 08:00 a.m., the accidents leading to death were more than the accidents in which people survived. Conclusion: The rate of accidents in Fars province is high due to its tourist attractions, historical sites and the weather condition. The findings of this study indicated that the number of traffic accidents varied in different times. Due to the high traffic accidents in the last months of the summer and at sunset, traffic police need to have more precise traffic control to prevent road accidents.