Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Accident Causation/ Accident Patterns'

The construction industry has a longstanding reputation for offering dangerous work and has above average rates of occupational injuries and fatalities. Although fatalities have more than halved in the last 20 years, there continues to be more than one construction worker death on average per week. Earlier construction research has generated a wealth of data portraying a clear profile of accident types, but has failed to reveal what happened - the causal factors. In response to this lack of information the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sponsored this research, the main component of which has been to undertake detailed examination of construction industry accidents. Lacking any precedent of earlier or related work, an important precursor to data collection was a review of the resources that might inform development of the methodology. The path of progress in accident research was explored through evaluation of accident causation models. The need to identify active and latent factors using a systems approach was identified. Desirable features of the systems approach were isolated and, against these criteria, construction accident models were evaluated. Construction accident models were found to be too technically orientated and focused upon human failings to fulfil the criteria for the systems approach. Nevertheless some gave good representation of failure potential through the project lifecycle, and these features were isolated for later inclusion during development of the data collection methods. To complement the theoretical development, perceptions of accident causation were gathered from groups of construction industry practitioners', by the use of focus groups. Appraisal of the accident investigation processes used in industry identified numerous problems with reporting and interpretation, and it was concluded that they are not efficient ways to explore latent conditions. Recommendations for improvements include the development of `performance assessments'; a supplementary system (to synchronise with the risk assessment process) for assessment of factors that affect performance and which are contributory in accident causations, the latent conditions. Benchmarking with industries that have moved away from the traditional organisational and safety management approaches is also advised. It will be an additional challenge to devise changes that are compatible with the unique construction management and contracting methods - any interventions will need careful management, leadership, participatory processes and cross-disciplinary development.

The investigation and modelling of aviation accident causation is dominated by linear models. Aviation is, however, a complex system and as such suffers from being artificially manipulated into non-complex models and methods. This thesis addresses this issue by developing a new approach to investigating aviation accident causation through information networks. These networks centralise communication and the flow of information as key indicators of a system‟s health and risk. The holistic approach focuses on the system itself rather than any individual event. The activity and communication of constituent elements, both human and non-human agents, within that system is identified and highlights areas of system failure. The model offers many potential developments and some key areas are studied in this research. Through the centralisation of barriers and information nodes the method can be applied to almost any situation. The application of Bayesian mathematics to historical data populations provides scope for studying error migration and barrier manipulation. The thesis also provides application of these predictions to a flight simulator study in an attempt of validation. Beyond this the thesis also discusses the applicability of the approach to industry. Through working with a legacy airline the methods discussed are used as the basis for a new and forward-thinking safety management system. This holistic approach focuses on the system environment, the activity that takes place within it, the strategies used to conduct this activity, the way in which the constituent parts of the system (both human and non-human) interact and the behaviour required. Each stage of this thesis identifies and expands upon the potential of the information network approach maintaining firm focus on the overall health of a system. It is contended that through the further development and application of this approach, understanding of aviation risk can be improved.

The United Kingdom (UK) construction industry is one of the worst industries in the UK in terms of health and safety (H&S) performance. Numerous injuries, deaths, dangerous occurrences and work related illnesses are reported annually in the industry, and these are associated with huge economic and social costs which make the need for H&S improvement inevitable. The pursuit of improvement has triggered studies into construction accident causation which have emphasised the need to pay attention to underlying accident causal factors which emanate from the pre-construction stage in order to have sustained improvement in H&S. Construction project features (CPFs), such as nature of project, method of construction, site restriction, procurement method, project duration, level of construction, design complexity, and subcontracting, which are organisational, physical, and operational characteristics of projects emanating from pre-construction decisions fall in this category of underlying causal factors. However, despite the significance of underlying causal factors to H&S, not much attention by way of research has been given to CPFs. As a result, insight into how CPFs influence accident occurrence, the degree of their inherent potential to influence accident occurrence (i.e. their potential to cause accident) and their associated degree of H&S risk (i.e. the likelihood of accident occurrence due to CPFs) remain elusive in the extant construction H&S literature. This research was thus undertaken to empirically investigate the mechanism by which CPFs influence accident occurrence and assess their degree of potential to influence accident occurrence and their associated H&S risk. Adopting a mixed method approach, the accident causal influence of CPFs was investigated. Following a conceptualisation of how CPFs influence accident occurrence based on systems models of accident causation, a qualitative inquiry involving semi-structured interviews with experienced construction professionals was undertaken to provide empirical verification of the conceptualised view. Subsequent to the qualitative inquiry, a questionnaire survey was undertaken to elicit relevant data from experienced professionals in construction management roles to enable the assessment of the degree of potential of CPFs to influence accident occurrence and their associated H&S risk. From the analysis of data, it was found that CPFs, emanating from pre-construction decisions, influence accident occurrence by their inherent introduction of certain associated H&S issues (which can be termed as proximal accident factors) into the construction phase of projects to give rise to accidents. There are also causal interactions between CPFs and the proximal factors which can reduce or increase the presence of proximal factors. CPFs have varying degrees of potential to influence accident occurrence which can generally be high or moderate and is influenced by: the extent to which their proximal factor(s) is common (in other words prevalent) within them; and the degree of potential of the proximal factor(s) to influence accident occurrence. Where CPFs apply on a project, they are generally associated with medium risk or high risk. Whereas with medium-risk CPFs some risk control measures would suffice in mitigating risk, with high-risk CPFs substantial measures are required. As a consolidation of the research findings, a toolkit, called CRiMT, has been developed. CRiMT provides H&S risk information regarding CPFs and it has the potential of assisting pre-construction project participants in managing the accident causal influence of CPFs from the early stage of project procurement. In view of the findings, the accident causal influence of CPFs should thus not be ignored or underestimated in construction project delivery. Pre-construction project participants, especially those whose decisions determine CPFs, ought to take into consideration the H&S effects of CPFs when making decisions which determine CPFs. Also, pre-construction project participants ought to plan and implement commensurate risk control measures in the early stage of projects to eliminate or mitigate the H&S risk posed by CPFs.

The health system in Australia delivers safe and effective health care to millions of patients each year. However, health care is not as safe as it could be with research indicating that errors involving medications are a leading cause of unintended harm to patients both in Australia and internationally. Historically, hospital authorities have attempted to reduce incidents by focusing on the actions of individuals. However, the health system is now taking advantage of research carried out in other complex industries which indicates that error is inevitable and that identifying individuals as the ultimate cause of adverse incidents is of limited value unless the context in which the incident occurred is well understood. This series of studies used Reason's (1990) model of accident causation as the basis for the search into possible contributing factors to unsafe behaviour by nurses during medication administration. Structural equation modelling was used to operationalise Reason's theory by developing a model linking organisational and individual factors to unsafe behaviour in the hospital system. Study 1 in this series was a preliminary investigation of the role of organisational factors in contributing to violations by nurses in rural and remote areas in Queensland, Australia. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire with this instrument being used to develop a structural model wherein organisational variables predicted 23% of the variance in self-reported violations. Study 2 extended the number of organisational factors measured by using a validated instrument that is widely used in public sector hospitals in Queensland. This instrument measures organisational climate and also a number of individual factors. In addition to the outcome variable, violation behaviour, a measure of errors was included. Data were collected from nurses working in two rural health service districts. A structural model was developed from this instrument wherein organisational variables predicted 7% of the variance in selfreported violations and 24% of the variance in errors. The hypothesised relationships between the individual factors and errors were not supported in this study. Study 3 investigated the impact of individual factors and a specific type of organisational climate, that is, safety climate on unsafe behaviour. The violation behaviour and error scales were extended and improved in this study, for example, the error scale was expanded to include near misses. In addition, a new scale measuring reporting behaviour was developed and included. Data were collected from nurses working in a large rural centre. The structural model developed from the instrument indicated that safety climate predicted 27% of the variance in violation behaviour, 61% of the variance in errors and near misses, and 20% of the variance in willingness to report. This series of studies identified underlying contributing factors to unsafe behaviour during medication administration, indicated the strength of the relationships among the various elements, and illustrated how the various parts of the system link together to influence safety outcomes. By identifying which elements are important by the use of structural equation modelling, this research provides the basis for predicting unsafe organisational conditions and leads to suggestions for suitably targeted interventions to reduce unsafe behaviour and adverse incidents.

This thesis examines the interactions between road users and the factors that contribute to the occurrence of traffic accidents, and discusses the implications of these interactions with regards to driver behaviour and accident prevention measures. Traffic accident data is collected on a macroscopic level by local police authorities throughout the UK. This data provides a description of accident related factors on a macroscopic level which does not allow for a complete understanding of the interaction between the various road users or the influence of errors made by active road users. Traffic accident data collected on a microscopic level analysis of real world accident data, explaining why and how an accident occurred, can further contribute to a data driven approach to provide safety measures. This data allows for a better understanding of the interaction of factors for all road users within an accident that is not possible with other data collection methods. In the first part of the thesis, a literature review presents relevant research in traffic accident analysis and accident causation research, afterwards three accident causation models used to understand behaviour and factors leading to traffic accidents are introduced. A comparison study of these accident causation coding models that classify road user error was carried out to determine a model that would be best suited to code the accident data according to the thesis aims. Latent class cluster analyses were made of two separate datasets, the UK On the Spot (OTS) in-depth accident investigation study and the STATS19 national accident database. A comparison between microscopic (in-depth) accident data and macroscopic (national) accident data was carried out. This analysis allowed for the interactions between all relevant factors for the road users involved in the accident to be grouped into specific accident segmentations based on the cluster analysis results. First, all of the cases that were collected by the OTS team between the years 2000 to 2003 were analysed. Results suggested that for single vehicle accidents males and females typically made failures related to detection and execution issues, whereas male road users made diagnosis failures with speed as a particularly important factor. In terms of the multiple vehicle accidents the interactions between the first two road users and the subsequent accident sequence were demonstrated. A cluster analysis of all two vehicle accidents in Great Britain in the year 2005 and recorded within the STATS19 accident database was carried out as a comparison to the multiple vehicle accident OTS data. This analysis demonstrated the necessity of in-depth accident causation data in interpreting accident scenarios, as the resulting accident clusters did not provide significant differences between the groups to usefully segment the crash population. Relevant human factors were not coded for these cases and the level of detail in the accident cases did not allow for a discussion of countermeasure implications. An analysis of 428 Powered Two Wheeler accidents that were collected by the OTS team between the years 2000 to 2010 was carried out. Results identified 7 specific scenarios, the main types of which identified two particular looked but did not see accidents and two types of single vehicle PTW accidents. In cases where the PTW lost control, diagnosis failures were more common, for road users other than the PTW rider, detection issues were of particular relevance. In these cases the interaction between all relevant road users was interpreted in relation to one another. The subsequent study analysed 248 Pedestrian accidents that were collected by the OTS team between the years 2000 to 2010. Results identified scenarios related to pedestrians as being in a hurry and making detection errors, impairment due to alcohol, and young children playing in the roadside. For accidents that were initiated by the other road user s behaviour pedestrians were either struck after an accident had already occurred or due to the manoeuvre that a road user was making, older pedestrians were over-represented in this accident type. This thesis concludes by discussing how (1) microscopic in-depth accident data is needed to understand accident mechanisms, (2) a data mining approach using latent class clustering can benefit the understanding of failure mechanisms, (3) accident causation analysis is necessary to understand the types of failures that road users make and (4) accident scenario development helps quantify accidents and allows for accident countermeasure implication discussion. The original contribution to knowledge is the demonstration that when relevant data is available there is a possibility to understand the interactions that are occurring between road users before the crash, that is not possible otherwise. This contribution has been demonstrated by highlighting how latent class cluster analysis combined with accident causation data allows for relevant interactions between road users to be observed. Finally implications for this work and future considerations are outlined.

Die vorliegende Arbeit leistet einen Beitrag zur Identifizierung von Einflussgrößen und Fehlerursachen auf Verkehrsunfälle. Diese können als Grundlage für Hinweise für den Einsatz und die Gestaltung von Fahrerassistenzsystemen genutzt werden. Dafür wurden insgesamt 506 Unfälle umfassend (in depth) untersucht. Zur Analyse der Pre-Crash-Phase der Unfälle wurden die Ergebnisse einer psychologischen Befragung mit Angaben aus der polizeilichen Verkehrsunfallanzeige, Informationen zur Unfallstelle, medizinischen Berichten sowie Informationen aus der technischen Rekonstruktion integriert. Anschließend wurde eine Fehleranalyse unter Betrachtung der Teilsysteme Fahrer, Umwelt und Fahrzeug durchgeführt. Um den bestmöglichen Befragungszeitpunkt herauszufinden, wurden in einer Vorstudie jeweils 15 Interviews am Unfallort sowie telefonische Interviews ein bis 14 Tage bzw. 15 bis 90 Tage nach dem Unfall bezüglich der Anzahl ihrer Genauigkeits- und Glaubhaftigkeitsmerkmale, der Motivation zur Interviewteilnahme sowie möglicher Vergessenseffekte verglichen. Im Ergebnis konnten keine Nachteile nachträglicher telefonischer Befragungen im Vergleich zu Befragungen an der Unfallstelle gefunden werden. Zur Fehleranalyse wurde ein verkehrspsychologisches Fehlerklassifikationsschema auf der Basis der verhütungsbezogenen Klassifikation von Fehlhandlungsursachen (Hacker, 1998) erstellt. Mit dessen Hilfe wurden insgesamt 696 Unfalleinflussfaktoren für die Unfallverursacher (n=343) ermittelt. Im Ergebnis wurde so bei allen Unfalltypengruppen ein hoher Anteil von Fehlern infolge von Ablenkung sowie Aktivierungsmängeln festgestellt (jeweils zwischen 28 % und 47%). Des Weiteren gab es bei Kreuzungsunfällen zahlreiche Fehler infolge von Sichtverdeckungen (40%), Fokusfehlern (30%), Reizmaskierungen (26%) und Verstößen gen die Verkehrsregeln (11%). Unfälle durch Abkommen von der Fahrbahn traten zudem häufig infolge von Erwartungsfehlern (35%), Reizmaskierungen (26%), Verstößen gegen die Verkehrsregeln (24%) sowie Zielsetzungs- bzw. Handlungsfehler (23%) auf. Unfälle im Längsverkehr passierten des Weiteren durch Erwartungsfehler (36%), Zielsetzungs- und Handlungsfehler (36%) sowie durch Setzen eines falschen Aufmerksamkeitsfokus (24%) auf. Anhand dieser Studienergebnisse ist das Sicherheitspotential für Fahrerassistenzsysteme, welche den Fahrer bei der Informationsaufnahme unterstützen und ihm helfen Ablenkungen und Aktivierungsdefizite zu vermeiden, als hoch einzuschätzen. So könnten insgesamt über zwei Drittel der erfassten Fehlhandlungen vermieden werden. Darüber hinaus münden die Studienergebnisse in ein Klassifikationsschema zur Erfassung von Unfalleinflussfaktoren, welches im Rahmen der Unfallforschung dauerhaft eingesetzt werden sollte.

博士
國立臺灣科技大學
管理研究所
100
The current study analyzed 250 electrical fatalities in the construction industry from 1996 to 2002 into seven patterns based on source of electricity (power line, energized equipment, improperly installed or damaged equipment), direct contact or indirect contact through some source of injury (boom vehicle, metal bar or pipe, and other conductive material). Each fatality was coded in terms of age, company size, experience, performing tasks, source of injury, accident cause and hazard pattern. The Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) was applied to the coded data of the fatal electrocution to find a subset of predictors that might derive meaningful classifications or accident scenarios. A series of flow diagrams was constructed based on CHAID result, flow diagram and Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) to illustrate the flow of electricity traveling from electrical source to human body. Each of the flow diagrams can be directly linked with feasible prevention strategies by cutting the flow of electricity.

碩士
亞洲大學
經營管理學系碩士在職專班
105
Falling ranks the top of death number in major occupational disasters in Taiwan due to certain major factors. For instance, business units give unimportance towards labor’s health and safety and the implementation of contracted work management, and on the other hands, self-employed operators are lack of security awareness. In recent years, with the government’s vigorous promotion of construction safety, the labor safety consciousness has risen, resulting in a significant decrease trend of occupational hazards. However, it is still at the top of occupational hazards in the industry of construction. The reason why it is prone to disasters in the construction industry is because the construction site itself is still an unfinished structure. With the progress of the project, not only the construction site terrain changes, there are also temporary openings and gaps. Without timely protection or closure in such dangerous conditions, they are likely to become dangerous factors that lead to operators’ accidental falls. In addition, the work sites are not on flat land. High-altitude operations increase the degree of danger of the work sites. In the event of falling, the responsive time of human beings is short and the fall is directly to the ground. These major casualties and financial losses are all due to the business units’ ignorance of necessary safety protection facilities during the construction period. In order to reduce the incidence rate of falling fatalities, this study proposes preventive measures and the use of safety protection tools which include anti-fall facilities, such as safety network, guardrails, barriers, covers, and so on as well as the actual use of helmets and safety belts. In the future, the safety management technology shall still be fortified so as to enhance the business units’ disaster prevention abilities. The key to it is on the correct concept, appropriate pre-planning, and detailed safety and health facilities and budget as well as the correct selection, installation and usage of anti-fall facilities so as to guarantee labors’ safety.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
法律學研究所
96
The main purpose of this thesis is to distinguish the difference between the coverage in accident insurance and health insurance. We emphasize on the definition of an accident, the judgment of causation, and the allocation of burden of proof. In the first section, we will discuss what defines an accident in accident insurance. Initially, we will introduce the opinions of domestic courts and scholars, and point out their possible deficiencies. Ultimately, we will try to advance a new standard to define what is considered an accident in accident insurance, and use this new standard to review the related cases in Taiwan and the U.S. In the second section, we will discuss causation theory in accident insurance. In the beginning, we will introduce the opinions of domestic courts, and point out their possible deficiencies. In the end, we will try to advance a more concrete and clear standard on this issue, and use this new standard to review the related cases in Taiwan. In the last section, we will discuss the burden of proof. Namely, when a case enters into court, we need to determine which party has to prove if the insured’s death or disablement resulted from an accident, and whether or not there was a break in the chain of causation between the accident and the result of death or disablement. Similarly, we will introduce the opinions of domestic courts and scholars, and subsequently provide our opinion about how to determine the allocation of burden of proof.

The prehispanic Moche culture, which flourished on the North Coast of Peru in the first millennium AD, has been the focus of archaeological investigation for decades. However, questions still linger regarding the nature of Moche political structure and warfare. The current study seeks to add to the information researchers can turn to when theorizing about the Moche by providing a more thorough examination of the variation in and distribution of violent behavior, including armed combat and human sacrifice, as seen in the remains of the Moche people themselves. A study of fracture patterns was undertaken on five Moche skeletal samples, analyzing the frequency and location of fractures for insight into their causation. This pattern analysis has shed light on the level of both violent and accidental trauma occurring in different places and times and provides insight on differences in the ways in which violence manifested itself in the Moche world
acase@tulane.edu

Motor vehicle collisions are one of the leading circumstances of death worldwide and are contributory to the second most common circumstance of death in South Africa, “transport-related deaths”. A total of 3248 transport-related deaths were recorded in Gauteng alone in 2009 and for that reason motor vehicle collisions pose a substantial threat to the South African population. This study was undertaken to determine if specific patterns of injuries in victims of fatal motor vehicle collisions existed. For the purposes of this study, “patterns of injury” can be defined as similar injuries of similar severities repeatedly and predictably occurring in similar body regions. The study consisted of all individuals involved in fatal collisions who fit the inclusion criteria during the period between 13 May 2011 and 1 June 2012. The external, visceral, and skeletal injuries sustained by the individuals involved in fatal motor vehicle collisions were observed via x-ray and photographic procedures performed by the investigator, as well as documentation from the Forensic Medical Practitioner/scribe notes. The South African Police Force attending officer’s affidavit and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Force Accident Reports were used to determine the make and model of the vehicle, the occupant’s position, type of collision and object with which the vehicle collided. The study’s results indicated that distinct patterns of injuries existed for those individuals involved in fatal motor vehicle collisions. The most frequently observed patterns of injuries included either severe head injuries in isolation, severe thoracic and/or abdominal injuries in isolation, or a combination of the two. Distinct patterns of injuries were noted for individuals occupying different types of vehicles but not for individuals occupying different positions within a single vehicle which is contrary to other international findings.

Die vorliegende Arbeit leistet einen Beitrag zur Identifizierung von Einflussgrößen und Fehlerursachen auf Verkehrsunfälle. Diese können als Grundlage für Hinweise für den Einsatz und die Gestaltung von Fahrerassistenzsystemen genutzt werden. Dafür wurden insgesamt 506 Unfälle umfassend (in depth) untersucht. Zur Analyse der Pre-Crash-Phase der Unfälle wurden die Ergebnisse einer psychologischen Befragung mit Angaben aus der polizeilichen Verkehrsunfallanzeige, Informationen zur Unfallstelle, medizinischen Berichten sowie Informationen aus der technischen Rekonstruktion integriert. Anschließend wurde eine Fehleranalyse unter Betrachtung der Teilsysteme Fahrer, Umwelt und Fahrzeug durchgeführt. Um den bestmöglichen Befragungszeitpunkt herauszufinden, wurden in einer Vorstudie jeweils 15 Interviews am Unfallort sowie telefonische Interviews ein bis 14 Tage bzw. 15 bis 90 Tage nach dem Unfall bezüglich der Anzahl ihrer Genauigkeits- und Glaubhaftigkeitsmerkmale, der Motivation zur Interviewteilnahme sowie möglicher Vergessenseffekte verglichen. Im Ergebnis konnten keine Nachteile nachträglicher telefonischer Befragungen im Vergleich zu Befragungen an der Unfallstelle gefunden werden. Zur Fehleranalyse wurde ein verkehrspsychologisches Fehlerklassifikationsschema auf der Basis der verhütungsbezogenen Klassifikation von Fehlhandlungsursachen (Hacker, 1998) erstellt. Mit dessen Hilfe wurden insgesamt 696 Unfalleinflussfaktoren für die Unfallverursacher (n=343) ermittelt. Im Ergebnis wurde so bei allen Unfalltypengruppen ein hoher Anteil von Fehlern infolge von Ablenkung sowie Aktivierungsmängeln festgestellt (jeweils zwischen 28 % und 47%). Des Weiteren gab es bei Kreuzungsunfällen zahlreiche Fehler infolge von Sichtverdeckungen (40%), Fokusfehlern (30%), Reizmaskierungen (26%) und Verstößen gen die Verkehrsregeln (11%). Unfälle durch Abkommen von der Fahrbahn traten zudem häufig infolge von Erwartungsfehlern (35%), Reizmaskierungen (26%), Verstößen gegen die Verkehrsregeln (24%) sowie Zielsetzungs- bzw. Handlungsfehler (23%) auf. Unfälle im Längsverkehr passierten des Weiteren durch Erwartungsfehler (36%), Zielsetzungs- und Handlungsfehler (36%) sowie durch Setzen eines falschen Aufmerksamkeitsfokus (24%) auf. Anhand dieser Studienergebnisse ist das Sicherheitspotential für Fahrerassistenzsysteme, welche den Fahrer bei der Informationsaufnahme unterstützen und ihm helfen Ablenkungen und Aktivierungsdefizite zu vermeiden, als hoch einzuschätzen. So könnten insgesamt über zwei Drittel der erfassten Fehlhandlungen vermieden werden. Darüber hinaus münden die Studienergebnisse in ein Klassifikationsschema zur Erfassung von Unfalleinflussfaktoren, welches im Rahmen der Unfallforschung dauerhaft eingesetzt werden sollte.

MENVSC
Department of Geography and Geo-Information Sciences
Road transport safety is challenging globally, especially in developing countries, where it affects both road users and governments. The aim of road traffic safety is to ensure a reduction or total eradication of road fatalities and other injuries that are related to road accidents resulting from public road usage. In South Africa, one of the major problems faced by the Department of Roads and Transport is the issue of road traffic accidents. Between 2004 and 2010 the annual road traffic accidents increased to over 500,000 and 28,000 or more are fatal, which has led to serious injuries, as reported by the Department. This study analysed patterns and trends of road traffic injuries and fatalities in Vhembe District Municipality from January 2011 to August 2015. It also mapped road accident hotpots using Getis hotspot analysis and linear referencing in ArcGIS 10.2 spatial statistics extension. The research further established correlation between accidents spots and road design geometry. Factors that are responsible for road traffic accidents leading to fatalities, injuries, and loss of property were also examined. Pedestrian behavioural attitude towards adhering to road safety measures was studied using systematic random sampling, field observation and questionnaires. Finally, the study investigated if there has been any significant reduction in the road traffic injuries and fatalities occurrence rate within the last five years in Vhembe District since the commencement of World Health Organisation; Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. It was found out that most of the accidents occurred as a result of changes in human social behaviour, negligence and indulgence. The passenger road users category is the worst affected followed by drivers and pedestrians. It was found out that road crashes have decreased by 35% since the commencement of decade of action for road safety. The composition of road traffic injuries and fatalities since 2011 shows a reduction in the numbers of victims recorded. An average of 86 fatalities, 326 serious injuries and 701 minor injuries occurred per annum within the study period. There was high significant value (p  0.05) among all the categories of road users understudied. The differences observed were real and did not occurred by chance for the 5year period (2011 – 2015).