ABSTRACT
A total of 2,849 road traffic accidents which occurred in Rangoon during the one year period between October I, 1969 and September 30, 1970 were studied in respect of the road user, the vehicle and the road system and its environment. Of all the road accidents, 114 (+ per cent) were fatal, 157 (5.5 per cent) involved badly injured cases and 666 (23.4 per cent} suffered minor injuries. The rest (1,912) were non-casualty accidents where only damage to vehicle, road, etc., was involved. Collision of two or more vehicles constituted the largest group in all types of road traffic accidents (55.4 per cent). The largest category of road users involved was the pedestrian 47.1 per cent) with a highest percentage of fatality (59.6 per cent) of all road accidental deaths. Human error was the major contributory factor to road accidents. Human failure on the part of the drivers of various vehicles accounted for 67.4 per cent of all road traffic accidents, whereas the other road users were responsible for 12.1 per cent of the total number of accidents. Speeding was a major contributory factor in 23.9 per cent of all the collisions studied. Nearly 80 per cent of the accidents occurred during 0800 to 2000 hours with two main peaks, between 0800 to 1000 hours (13.8 per cent) and between 1800 to 2000 hours (154 per cent). The road conditions and other miscellaneous factors contributed to 9.9 per cent of all the accidents.