Background: Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the young population and are a growing problem worldwide. This study is a comprehensive analysis of the spatiotemporal patterns of 352,464 RTAs in Saudi Arabia from 2017 to 2018.
Methods: This study consists of three principal phases of analysis (exploratory data analysis of the RTA dataset by analyzing population involvement in RTAs and mortality or morbidity, we examined the geographic and temporal distribution of RTA, and we performed a spatial hotspot analysis per region on a monthly basis using local Moran’s I hotspot clustering). This study presented the monthly spatiotemporal patterns of RTAs in Saudi Arabia in 1439 Hijri and data were obtained from the Saudi Open Data Portal for all.
Results: Four cities, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah, Makkah, and Jeddah, were in the top 25% of RTA involvement, mortality, and morbidity in Saudi Arabia. Four cities, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah, Makkah, and Jeddah, were in the top 25% of RTA involvement, mortality, and morbidity in Saudi Arabia. There were 11 injuries and 2 deaths per 100 accidents during the study period. More than 84% and 88% of those who were injured and killed in RTAs were male, respectively. There was a significant decrease in the number of RTAs in the last months of the year (Hajj month in the Hijri calendar) compared to other months in the Makkah region and the Eastern Province. In addition, no significant temporal patterns in daily occurrence rates at the national level. Similarly, there was no significant difference between RTA incidence on weekdays and weekends. Differences between daytime and nighttime were significant, with more accidents occurring during the day. The number of injuries per 1,000 population is the same throughout the year in the provinces of the country.
Conclusion: This study identified areas in Saudi Arabia where further investigation is needed to analyze the points that lead to more RTAs and consequently more disabilities and mortalities.
Key words: Accident hotspots, Moran’s I, motor vehicle accidents, Saudi Arabia, spatial statistics.
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