ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS: ALCOHOL AND SELECTED DETERMINANTS INFLUENCING FATAL OUTCOMES
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Keywords
Alcohol use; Fatal road traffic accidents; Blood alcohol concentration
Abstract
Road traffic accidents constitute a major public health challenge in India, with alcohol consumption playing a significant role in fatal outcomes. This study assessed the prevalence and characteristics of alcohol use among victims of fatal road traffic accidents undergoing medico-legal autopsy at a tertiary care centre over a one-year period. Alcohol was detected in nearly one-fifth of the total road traffic fatalities examined. The majority of victims were male, with young adults in the 20–29-year age group being most commonly affected. Most individuals belonged to lower educational strata and were pedestrians or users of two-wheelers at the time of the incident. Blood alcohol analysis demonstrated a mean concentration of 167.28 mg/dl, with almost all cases exceeding the legally permissible limit. These findings highlight the substantial contribution of alcohol to fatal road traffic accidents and reinforce the need for stringent enforcement of drunk-driving laws, improved surveillance, and focused public awareness initiatives to reduce alcohol-related road mortality.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Dr Aditya Madhab Baruah
Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital, Barpeta. Email- [email protected]
Dr Richa Pandey
Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati. Email- [email protected]
Dr Rohini Kumar
Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati. Email [email protected]
