KARACHI: Seventy-six people were killed and 3,000 injured on roads during Ramazan that over the years has been found to be the most risky month in terms of road traffic casualties, according to the data released by the Road Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Centre (RTIRPC).

The centre functioning with the support of public and private sector organisations collects data on road traffic injuries through surveillance of emergency departments of five hospitals in Karachi — the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Civil Hospital Karachi, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Aga Khan University Hospital and Liaquat National Hospital.

The Ramazan data shows that of the 76 fatalities, 37 were rider/pillion riders, 22 were pedestrians while details of the 17 other persons were unknown.

“The number of victims is likely to increase as it is yet to include the Chand Raat and Eid data. Ramazan over the years has been found to be the most vulnerable month in terms of road traffic injuries,” said Kamran Karamat at the RTIRPC.

Experts from the Aga Khan University used the centre’s data (Sept 2006 to Sept 2011) for a study aimed at assessing the pattern and burden of road traffic injuries in Ramazan and then compared the results with road traffic data of the other months.

According to the study’s findings, of the total number of road traffic injured persons included in the study (163,022), 13,640 reported at health facilities during Ramazan whereas 149,382 during the non-Ramazan period.

“The number of road traffic crashes does not change significantly during Ramazan but their frequency increases in the evening at the time of breaking fast. The most affected road user group is motorbike riders followed by pedestrians. Higher fatality is observed during Ramazan as compared to other months,” it says.

The data highlights that a majority of the victims were male between 16 and 45 years of age while the mode of transport used in Ramazan and non-Ramazan months to shift patients to hospitals was found to be private cars in most cases followed by ambulances.

“For all time periods, the proportion of fatality was higher in Ramazan than the rest of the year, that is, 4.1 per cent versus 3.5pc of total road traffic injury victims during study period. But the most significant finding is a rise in fatalities in Ramazan between 6am and 8am that averages around 9pc of all the crashes during a 24-hour time period,” the study says.

It was found that although there were similarities in distribution of crashes during different times of the day, a distinct peak was observed during Ramazan between 6pm and 7pm that fell down to the non-Ramazan level at around 11pm.

At least two peaks were observed for increased frequency of road crashes for pedestrians; the first peak occurred at 3pm-4pm and the second 8pm-9pm.

The motorbike riders, however, demonstrated a different pattern and the peak time for motorbike crashes was 6pm-7pm. Motor vehicle passengers displayed less variance in road traffic crashes during Ramazan.

Explaining other reasons behind the increased road traffic injuries during Ramazan, the study points out that the day starts early in the fasting month with a lot of activity on the road. Businesses usually close between 3pm and 5pm that’s the time of pedestrians more likely to be on the roads with associated risk of injury. Later, people flocked to mosques for taraveeh prayers.

The findings suggested that the government institutions responsible for traffic control needed to design more efficient systems especially to protect pedestrians according to the changing road traffic burden during different times of the day.

“There is also a need for better health education as well as road safety promotion campaigns aimed at creating awareness about vulnerable groups like pedestrians and motorbike users,” it concludes.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2014