Traffic accidents resulting in death and injury on an international road passing through a city in Kocaeli, Turkey.

Deaths and injuries linked to traffic accidents are important public health issues. In this descriptive study, the accidents resulting in death and injury between 2000 and 2004 on the city portion of the D-100 were compared with those on the other roads within the city. The D-100 had a fatality risk approximately 2 times higher than that of the other roads within the city. The percentage of trucks of the total vehicles involved in accidents that occurred on the D-100 resulting in death and injury was 14.87% in 2002, 13.18% in 2003, and 9.88% in 2004. The main proposals of this study are to limit the use of the D-100's city portion to city traffic, and prevent heavy cargo vehicles from using the road as a transit route.