Road Traffic Accidents in the Northern Border Region of Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study Using...

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a global public health concern and a major concern in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia.

To describe the characteristics, patterns, and contributing factors of RTAs in the Northern Border area of Saudi Arabia for the time period from 2016 to 2018.

The data used for this retrospective cross-sectional study were obtained from the Saudi Open Data Platform. Variables included the frequency, type, cause, driver age, and license status of the accidents. The data were analyzed using SPSS v25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), and descriptive statistics were calculated, and chi-square tests were used to determine significance (P < 0.05).

Out of 34,311 RTAs recorded, 96.81% were damage only, 2.31% were injury, and 0.88% were fatal (statistically significant). Speeding was the major cause (54.6% - 60.75%). Young drivers 18-30 represented the majority (52.98%). Most had an expired or no license, and a significant association was found between age group and accident outcome (P < 0.05).

The high incidence of RTAs involving young drivers with expired or no license, the prevalence of speeding as a cause of accidents, and the global prevalence of RTAs emphasize the need for more effective enforcement of traffic law with targeted educational interventions.