Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine

Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) continue to be one of the leading causes of death in developing countries and constitute a bulk of medico-legal autopsy cases conducted in India.

To study the demographic profile and pattern of injuries among victims of RTA.

This analytical, autopsy based study was carried out in the department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Koppal Institute of Medical Sciences, Koppal, from January 2015 to December 2016. The data source included postmortem reports, police inquest reports, history noted in the sheet as given by relatives and friends of the deceased, crime scene photographs, hospital case records and laboratory investigation reports. The data collected was analysed and descriptive statistics such as percentages, ratios and proportion were used

A total of 202 autopsies were conducted during the study period and among them, 82 (40.6%) cases were of RTA. Of these, 64 (78%) were males. Majority of the victims, 31.7%, were in the age group of 21–30 years. Head injury (50%) was the most common cause of death and Subdural haemorrhage (69.5%) was the commonest among the intracranial haemorrhages.

Road traffic accidents are preventable causes of mortality and there is urgent need to enhance road safety by multi sector approach along with improving trauma care management in hospitals.