Traffic accidents among drivers: incidence and differences between motorcyclists and car drivers in population-based study.

Objectives: To estimate the incidence of traffic accidents among land vehicle drivers and to verify differences between motorcyclist and car driver accident victims.

Methods: A household survey was conducted in Jequié city, Bahia, Brazil, in 2013, with 1,406 drivers who were selected by cluster sampling strategy. Estimates of the cumulative incidence of traffic accidents were weighted by the sample design and, to compare groups of drivers, incidence rates (IR) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated with Poisson Regression. The Chi-Square test were used with Rao-Scott correction (p ≤ 0.05) to evaluate differentials of the event between motorcyclists and car driver victims.

Results: Involvement in traffic accidents in the last 12 months before the interview was reported by 10.6% of the drivers. The cumulative incidence was 4.3% for accidents that caused injuries. Motorcyclists had double the risk of being involved in accidents (IR = 2.03; 95%CI 1.40 - 2.94) and higher proportions of injuries (p < 0.001), interruption in daily life activities (p = 0.003) and use of emergency services (p = 0.008). Factors related to time and place of accident were not different between groups.

Conclusion: Higher incidence of traffic accidents and higher proportions of injuries and others repercussions of these events were seen in motorcyclists. These findings reaffirm the vulnerability of this group and explains the different impact that a preventable cause of morbidity and mortality has on each driver group.