Trends of road traffic accidents in Seurat city

Present study was carried out from 1^st January 2006 to 31^st December 2006 at Dept. of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Govt. Medical College and New Civil Hospital, Surat; to study the distribution, nature and types of injuries received during fatal Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) and to suggest possible preventive measures. Surat is an industrial city with hub to diamond and textile industries, so the people from all over the country come here to earn bread. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (Ministry of home affair), the incidence of accidental deaths has shown a mixed trend during the decade 1996–2006 with an increase of 43 per cent in the year 2006 as compared to 1996. The population growth during the corresponding period was 20.2 per cent whereas the increase in the rate of accidental deaths during the same period was 19 per cent.

During present study period 1731 total postmortems have been conducted, out of which, 243 cases were of road traffic accidents.