Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the geographical variability of the severity of traffic accidents in Spain, from 1985 to 1994, and to compare several severity indicators.
Methods: The mean values --from 1985 to 1994-- of the following indicators were obtained for each province: mortality index (deaths/accidents), harmfulness rate (victims/accidents), fatality rate (deaths/victims), motorization index (vehicles/inhabitants) and population density. Variability measures among provinces were obtained for each one. Provinces were then grouped in tertiles according to the magnitude of each indicator. Simple correlation coefficients among indicators were calculated. Poisson regression models were obtained, using severity indicators as the dependent variables.
Results and conclusions: Geographical variability was especially high for mortality index and fatality rate. For all severity indicators, lower values were found in provinces with the highest population densities and important metropolitan areas. Harmfulness and fatality rates play an independent role upon mortality index.