Prevalence and factors associated with ever had road traffic accidents among drivers in Hargeisa city, Somaliland, 2022

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a major cause of morbidity in Somaliland. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with traffic-related incidents in Hargeisa city. A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2022, utilizing a mixed approach involving quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Key informant interviews were conducted with 15 government officials, and structured questionnaires were administered to 387 drivers. Cluster sampling and purposive sampling were employed to select drivers and government officials, respectively. Data collection was performed using the Kobo Collect application, followed by cleaning and analysis using IBM SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression, and chi-square tests were utilized for data analysis. The findings revealed an increasing trend of RTAs in Somaliland over the past 11 years (2011–2021). Moreover, the prevalence of RTAs in the past two years alone was determined to be 28.17% (CI: 23.67, 32.63). Factors significantly associated with RTAs in the research area included the type of vehicle, particularly Minibus (AOR = 3.249, CI: 1.022, 10.322) and Vitz (AOR = 2.325, CI: 1.092, 5.494), encountering aggressive behavior from other drivers (AOR = 1.790, CI: 1.013, 3.162), vehicles less than 4 years (AOR = 0.446, CI: 0.258, 0.771), traffic law violations (AOR = 2.726, CI: 1.296, 5.735), and the presence of traffic campaigns (AOR = 0.465, CI: 0.236, 0.917). The study recommends increasing awareness of RTAs among drivers and pedestrians, regular vehicle maintenance checks, enforcement of traffic laws, and increased police presence in road management to reduce fatalities associated with RTAs.