Vulnerability of the border area: analysis of the Traffic Accident Analysis System in Korea

• Published in: Daehan oe'sang haghoeji Vol. 38; no. 2; pp. 91 - 96
• Main Authors: Kim, Doo-Hun, Cho, Hangjoo, Jeong, Sung Yub, Kim, Maru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Society of Traumatology 01.06.2025; Korean Society of Traumatology; 대한외상학회
• Subjects: border area; incidence; military medicine; mortality; Original; traffic accidents; 의학일반; Military medicine; Border area; Traffic accidents; Mortality; Incidence
• ISSN: 2799-4317; 2287-1683
• DOI: 10.20408/jti.2024.0100

Purpose: This study assessed patient vulnerability following traffic accidents (TAs) in Korea’s border area (BA).Methods: The BA includes cities and counties directly adjacent to the demilitarized zone with North Korea. The rear area (RA) is defined as the area immediately adjacent to the BA. TA data from 2017 to 2021 were obtained from the Traffic Accident Analysis System in Korea. Information on road length, population, number of TAs, injured patients, and fatalities was collected. The number of TAs and fatalities per 1 km of road length and per 100,000 people was calculated. Severity (number of fatalities per 100 TA cases) and lethality (number of fatalities divided by the sum of fatalities and injured patients) were used to assess the vulnerability of each area.Results: A total of 55,463 TAs were analyzed. Although the RA exhibited higher numbers of TAs and deceased patients per 1 km of road length and per 100,000 people, the BA showed significantly higher fatalities per 100,000 people as well as increased severity and lethality.Conclusions: The BA is more likely to be associated with death following TAs, despite a lower overall TA incidence compared to the RA. Further analysis is needed to address and mitigate this vulnerability.