Epidemiology of traffic accidents in a Swedish municipality.

Total population injury surveillance was done in an area with a population of over 41,000. All traffic accidents (N = 632) occurring within a 12-month period and requiring medical care were noted, giving a ratio of 15.3 per 1,000. They involved cyclists (38.3%), pillion passengers on cycles (1.9%), pedestrians (29.3%), motorcar drivers (7.8%), motorcar passengers (3.6%), passengers entering or leaving a vehicle (7.3%), mopedists (6.8%), motorcyclists (3.5%), and "others" (1.6%). Children and teenagers predominated in the cycle group; 55% of the males were aged 0-15 years compared with 41% of the females. Women were involved in 65% of the pedestrian accidents; 69% were aged 50 years or more. Of the accidents involving women aged over 50 years, 61% occurred in icy or snowy conditions. The police statistics were incomplete and accounted for only 23% of the total number of people reported injured by the health authorities. In some respects, the accident pattern in the present study differed from that in other comparable studies. The difference is especially great concerning the incidence of traffic accidents, the proportion of young persons involved in cycle accidents, and the number of accidents caused by motorcar drivers who developed sudden illness whilst driving.