Death of Pedestrians after Trafic Accidents with Motor Cars

Overview

It was analyzed 431 cases of pedestrians hit by cars who died during years 1996 – 2005 and their body was examinated in the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Brno. In the study there were observed factors of traffic accident, time of the accidents, day in the week, production mark of the car, time of surviving of pedestrians, type of the hit, severity of the injury and cause of the death. The results of laboratory examination of ethylalcohol and drugs were studied. The statistical results were discussed and compared with the literature. The most frequent age category were persons 71–80 years old. The most frequent day of traffic accident were Wednesday and Friday and in the evening. The most frequent period of year were months since November till January. The less accidents happened during the summer. The most accidents were localized on municipal roads, the less on highways. There was observed the significant accumulation of accidents on crosswalks after changing of traffic rules from the year 2001. No drugs were found by the victims but the occurrence of ethylalcohol was very high. In the laboratory examinations was ethylalcohol positively tested in 70 percents by men and 25 percents by women. The most frequent category was heavy drunkenness. The most frequent type of a hit was the one from lateral direction, the second was behind hits and the third from the head-on direction. The other types of the hit including crossing were found in eight percents. The numbers of injuries of the parts of the body by various types of the hit were examinated by statistical methods.

Key words:
pedestrian – traffic accidents – ethylalcohol in traffic – traffic safety