Suriyawongpaisal Paibul, Kanchanasut Somchai
Community Medicine Center, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Rama, VI Payathai, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
Inj Control Saf Promot. 2003 Mar-Jun;10(1-2):95-104. doi: 10.1076/icsp.10.1.95.14110.
Injuries and deaths from traffic crashes have become a major public health and socio-economic problem in Thailand. Injuries, fatalities and economic losses due to traffic crashes have increased with the rising level of motorization. This study analyzes hospital-based data compiled by the Ministry of Public Health, data compiled by the National Police Office and data compiled by the traffic engineering division of the Department of Highways, Ministry of Transport and Communications. Analysis reveals that 70% of the people injured or killed in traffic crashes are aged 10-39. Men are at four to five times higher risk of death and injury due to traffic crashes than women. The number and rate of traffic injury in Thailand swung from a record low during the economic recovery in the 1980's to record a high during the bubble economy, then declined with the economic crisis in 1997. The economic costs were estimated at U.S.$1.6 billion in 1995. An urban-rural difference in traffic injuries has been recorded with a higher rural case-fatality rate. A number of known behavioral risk factors have been identified, i.e., drunk driving, speeding, substance abuse and failure to use helmets and seat belts. However, determinants of behavior need further investigation. Hazardous road locations have also been mapped. Trends of traffic injuries seem to follow trends of economic growth. Without effective policy and implementation programs to control the determinants, it is expected that traffic injuries will increase as the country recovers from economic crisis. A major pitfall to many current government programs is that they incorporate no systematic evaluation. The fragmented structure of road safety authorities further complicates collaboration and coordination. A broad coalition of stakeholders is needed to catalyze policy action.
交通事故造成的伤亡已成为泰国一个主要的公共卫生和社会经济问题。随着机动车化水平的提高，交通事故导致的伤亡和经济损失不断增加。本研究分析了泰国公共卫生部汇编的医院数据、国家警察局汇编的数据以及交通与通信部下属公路局交通工程司汇编的数据。分析表明，在交通事故中受伤或死亡的人员中有70%年龄在10至39岁之间。男性因交通事故伤亡的风险是女性的四到五倍。泰国交通伤害的数量和发生率从20世纪80年代经济复苏期间的历史低点，波动至泡沫经济期间的历史高点，随后随着1997年的经济危机而下降。1995年的经济成本估计为16亿美元。已记录到交通伤害存在城乡差异，农村的病死率更高。已确定了一些已知的行为风险因素，即酒后驾车、超速、药物滥用以及不使用头盔和安全带。然而，行为的决定因素仍需进一步调查。危险道路地点也已绘制出来。交通伤害趋势似乎与经济增长趋势一致。如果没有有效的政策和实施方案来控制这些决定因素，预计随着国家从经济危机中复苏，交通伤害将会增加。当前许多政府项目的一个主要缺陷是它们没有进行系统评估。道路安全管理部门的分散结构进一步使合作与协调变得复杂。需要广泛的利益相关者联盟来推动政策行动。
