Citation

Bener A, Ahmad MF, El-Twail MS, Al-Bakr S. Middle East J. Emerg. Med. 2004; 4(1): 39-43.

Affiliation

Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, Hamad General Hospital and Hamad Medical Corporation

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Hamad Medical Corporation)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between visual impairment and sustaining an injurious motor vehicle accident (MVA) among drivers seen at the Accident and Emergency Department of Al-Ain Hospital, United Arab Emirates, (UAE).

Design: A cross-sectional hospital-based study. Setting: Accident and Emergency Department of Al-Ain Hospital, UAE. Subjects: Males and females aged 18 years and above interviewed during the period January 1996 to December 1997. A total of 1542 drivers were examined and treated, but only 1428 gave consent for the study.

Methods: Socio-demographic data, visual acuity, level of injury, data about driving behavior and data from police reports were collected and analyzed. Study subjects were classified into two groups based upon visual acuity: normal vision and visually impaired.

Results: 1428 drivers were included in our study.  Of these, 1221 patients (85.6 %) had normal vision, and 207 patients (14.5%) were visually impaired at the time of sustaining the MVA. The majority of victims (77%) were males. Most of the drivers (55%) were under the age of 40 years; 39.7 percent were UAE nationals; 32% had a primary school education; 37.5% had less than 2 years driving experience, and 17.2 always used seatbelts. Most (59%) admitted to crossing red lights, 29.8% to using telephones while driving, and 32.1 to putting their child in the front seat. Significantly, higher risk was observed for careless driving [RR=1.29, 95% CI= 1.10-1.66]; speeding violations [RR=1.32, 95% CI= 1.01-1.73]; and property damage [RR= 1.80, 95% CI= 1.31-2.48] among drivers having vision impairment.

Conclusion: Vision impairment is considered a risk factor for MVA. Further investigation is essential and will require close inter-sectoral collaboration between traffic police, health, law, and transport authorities.