Tomy Mappalakayil 1
BACKGROUND
Deaths due to road traffic accidents are alarmingly increasing. For example, at Government Medical College, Kottayam, during 1992, 259 cases of motor occurrences were autopsied. But, in year 2008, 433 cases were examined, i.e. a 67% of increase during the above period.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study was a retrospective data searching study and doesn’t require clearance from the institutional ethical review committee and consents are not essential. The materials include dead bodies brought by Kerala police for medicolegal autopsies at Department of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College, Kottayam, and respective postmortem examinations conducted by author itself and the data was utilised for above study.
RESULTS
The type of victims mostly included was drivers and pedestrians, especially the drivers of two-wheelers (29/32) are involved (vide Table 1.1) in the group of drivers. The most common victims were pedestrians (40/100), especially involved 4/6 wheeler striking (31/40). The pedestrians strike by two-wheeler were less as compared to other group (9/40).
CONCLUSION
On Christmas day, 17 patients admitted to a general hospital of Los Angeles. All were either drivers who had been drinking and were in motor car accidents or pedestrians who had been run down by drunken drivers. After a motor accident, the driver of a motor vehicle maybe arrested upon a charge of being under the influence of alcohol. It is important for the district surgeon to recognise the symptoms of a head injury or the signs of traumatic shock (caused by visceral injuries) may simulate acute alcoholic intoxication.
