Dataset Information

Determination of the impact of rainfall on road accidents in Thailand.

ABSTRACT: The World Health Organization has highlighted that the number of deaths worldwide due to road accidents increases every year. It recommends that countries improve road safety for all people by providing sustainable and safe transport systems by 2030, efforts are especially required within Low Middle-Income Countries (LMICS). This study is the first to investigate the impact of rainfall on road accidents in Thailand. Thai emergency data were collected from the National Institute for Emergency Medicine (NIEM) between 2012 to 2018. A time-series design with generalized linear model (GLM) was applied to analyse the associations between road accidents and rainfall. The results are reported using relative risk (RR) at 95% confidence intervals compared with dry days. The effects of long-term trends, seasonality, day of the weeks, public holidays and other meteorological factors were controlled in the GLM. A meta-analysis was applied to summarise the estimate effect of rain groups stratified by the Northern and Southern provinces. Findings reported a significant increase in road accidents due to high rainfall levels both in the Southern and the Northern provinces. The pooled estimate risks in the Southern provinces have higher estimated risks than the Northern provinces. Both Northern and Southern provinces showed the rain group with 10-20 mm/day having the highest pooled estimated risk with RR = 1.052, (95% CI: 1.026-1.079) and RR = 1.062, (95% CI: 1.043-1.082), respectively, while surprisingly, heavy rain with more than 20 mm/day reported a reduction of risks. Road accidents can therefore be associated with rainfall. It is recommended that rainfall is factored into ambulance forecast models and warning systems, allowing for improvements in ambulance service efficiency. Policymakers need to integrate road safety policies that reduce road accidents in wet weather.

SUBMITTER: Sangkharat K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7895724 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Determination of the impact of rainfall on road accidents in Thailand.

Sangkharat Kamolrat K Thornes John E JE Wachiradilok Porntip P Pope Francis D FD

Heliyon 20210212 2

The World Health Organization has highlighted that the number of deaths worldwide due to road accidents increases every year. It recommends that countries improve road safety for all people by providing sustainable and safe transport systems by 2030, efforts are especially required within Low Middle-Income Countries (LMICS). This study is the first to investigate the impact of rainfall on road accidents in Thailand. Thai emergency data were collected from the National Institute for Emergency Med ...[more]

PMID: 33644437

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Project description:IntroductionThis research aims to estimate the relative risks of responsibility for a fatal accident linked to driving under the influence of cannabis or alcohol, the prevalence of these influences among drivers and the corresponding attributable risk ratios. A secondary goal is to estimate the same items for three other groups of illicit drugs (amphetamines, cocaine and opiates), and to compare the results to a similar study carried out in France between 2001 and 2003.MethodologyPolice procedures for fatal accidents in Metropolitan France during 2011 were analyzed and 300 characteristics encoded to provide a database of 4,059 drivers. Information on alcohol and four groups of illicit drugs derived from tests for positivity and potential confirmation through blood analysis. The study compares drivers responsible for causing the accident, that is to say having directly contributed to its occurrence, to drivers involved in an accident for which they were not responsible, and who can be assimilated to drivers in general.ResultsThe proportion of persons driving under the influence of alcohol is estimated at 2.1% (95% CI: 1.4-2.8) and under the influence of cannabis at 3.4% (2.9%-3.9%). Drivers under the influence of alcohol are 17.8 times (12.1-26.1) more likely to be responsible for a fatal accident, and the proportion of fatal accidents which would be prevented if no drivers ever exceeded the legal limit for alcohol is estimated at 27.7% (26.0%-29.4%). Drivers under the influence of cannabis multiply their risk of being responsible for causing a fatal accident by 1.65 (1.16-2.34), and the proportion of fatal accidents which would be prevented if no drivers ever drove under the influence of cannabis is estimated at 4.2% (3.7%-4.8%). An increased risk linked to opiate use has also been found to be significant, but with low prevalence, requiring caution in interpreting this finding. Other groups of narcotics have even lower prevalence, and the associated extra risks cannot be assessed.ConclusionAlmost a decade separates the present study from a similar one previously conducted in France, and there have been numerous developments in the intervening years. Even so, the prevalence of drivers responsible for causing fatal accidents under the influence of alcohol or narcotics has stayed remarkably stable, as have the proportion of fatal accidents which could in theory be prevented if no drivers ever exceeded the legal limits. The overall number of deaths from traffic accidents has dropped sharply during this period, and the number of victims attributable to alcohol and/or cannabis declined proportionally. Alcohol remains the main problem in France. It is just as important to note that one in two drivers considered to be under the influence of cannabis was also under the influence of alcohol. With risks cumulating between the two, it is particularly important to point out the danger of consuming them together.

Dataset Information

Determination of the impact of rainfall on road accidents in Thailand.

Publications

Determination of the impact of rainfall on road accidents in Thailand.

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