Background: According to the WHO, road traffic injuries caused an estimated 1.24 million deaths worldwide in the year 2010, down from 1.26 million in 2000. In the South East Asian region of the WHO, India alone accounted for 73% of RTA burden.
Aims & Objective: To assess knowledge and practice of road safety measures among undergraduate medical students.
Materials and Methods: A Cross-sectional study was conducted among 310 Medical students in AGMC campus during month of September to October 2013. The participants were selected by convenient sampling technique and information collected using structured questionnaire. The percentage, χ2 test etc. had been employed in the analysis of data.
Results: Majority (67.4%) of the participants were in the age group of 20 -25 years and males (53.2%). Majority knew that consumption of alcohol while driving was dangerous, talking while driving distract the driver, cautious drive near school, seat belt to be worn by everyone in the car, loud music in the car distract driver, should drive in the left lane, over taking in the right only, give way to ambulance, use of hand free devices was safe while driving, wait patiently when pedestrians were taking too much time in zebra crossing and correct knowledge of speed limit was essential. Males had significantly (p=0.035) better knowledge compared to females.
Conclusion: The overall knowledge and practice of road safety measures was high among the study participants. Continuous efforts should be on to increase road safety measures through IEC activities to reduce the morbidity and mortality regarding RTAs. Further research was recommended among various sub-groups of population.
Key words: Knowledge, practice, road traffic accident, medical student, medical college.
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