The occurrence and driver characteristics associated with motor vehicle injuries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ethiopian documentation of the occurrence and determinants of motor vehicle related morbidity and mortality is sparse. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the incidence of hospital treated motor vehicle injuries (MVI) in Addis Ababa and driver characteristics associated with involvement in a MVI. The study was conducted over a 12-week period in the autumn of 1988. Over 91% of MVI involved pedestrians. The overall MVI incidence density rate was 279.4 per 100,000 person years and the mortality rate was 17.6 per 100,000 population per year. Road accident injury and fatality rates were 946 and 59.5 respectively per 10,000 registered vehicles. Overall years of person life lost was 595 per 100,000 person-years exposure. Significantly increased odds of exposure among drivers inflicting a MVI were found for younger age, fewer years driving experience, male gender, and those driving newer, government owned, and mass transit vehicles.