Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(3):195-198 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4791

Risk indicators for road accident in Poland for the period 2004-2017

Witold Paw³owski1, Krzysztof Goniewicz2, Katarzyna Naylor3, Mariusz Goniewicz4, Dorota Lasota5
1 Department of Disaster Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
2 Department of Security Studies, Polish Air Force Academy, Deblin, Poland
3 Department of Didactics and Medical Simulation, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
4 Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
5 Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

Objective: The aim of the research was to assess the prevalence, effects and risk factors for motor vehicle accidents (MVA) in the years 2004-2017 in Poland.

Method: We merged secondary data from the Prevention and Analysis Office of Road Traffic Headquarters of Police and Central Statistical Office of Poland.

Results: Our results suggest that several thousand people are killed on Polish roads annually, and tens of thousands are injured. Road crashes represent the leading cause of death for Polish men up to 44 years of age. The most common causes of road crashes in Poland include failure to comply with the road traffic rules and low driving skills. We also found drivers who poorly assessed road situations, roads characterized by a lack of adequate road infrastructure, and many vehicles in poor condition. Road crashes have become a significant public health and social problem globally. Drivers caused most MVA in Poland in the years 2004-2017, whereas the underlying cause was inadequate speed regarding the road traffic condition as well as not respecting the right-of-way. Despite various measures that are being taken to improve safety on Polish roads, the number of the dead and wounded as a result of road accidents is still high and the losses to the society are considerable as well.

Conclusion: It is necessary to continue multidirectional actions to improve safety on the roads in Poland resulting in a systematic increase in the level of road traffic security.

Keywords: road traffic accidents, mortality rates, injury rates, vehicle speeding, traffic violations

Received: April 6, 2016; Revised: August 1, 2018; Published: September 30, 2018  Show citation

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Paw³owski W, Goniewicz K, Naylor K, Goniewicz M, Lasota D. Risk indicators for road accident in Poland for the period 2004-2017. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2018;26(3):195-198. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a4791. PubMed PMID: 30419621.
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