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Prevalence of speeding and associated factors in four Mexican cities
  1. Elisa Hidalgo-Solórzano1,
  2. Lourdes Gómez-García1,
  3. Francisco R Mojarro-Íñiguez2,
  4. Ricardo Pérez-Núñez1
  1. 1 Centro de Investigación en SIstemas de Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Cuernavaca, Mexico
  2. 2 Mexican Red Cross, Mexico City, Mexico
  1. Correspondence to Ricardo Pérez-Núñez, Centro de Investigación en SIstemas de Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Cuernavaca, Morelos CP 62100, México; ricardo.perez{at}insp.mx

Abstract

Background Speeding is responsible for countless traffic collisions and road traffic injuries (RTIs) around the world. It threatens the lives of passengers in motor vehicles as well as the safety of other individuals sharing the public roads. Little evidence has been provided by low- and middle-income countries on speed transgression patterns.

Objective To document the prevalence of speeding in motor vehicles with four or more wheels and to analyse the associated factors in four Mexican cities.

Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in the cities of Guadalajara-Zapopan, León, Cuernavaca and Villahermosa. Data on speed, drivers, vehicles, road infrastructure and the environment were collected from a randomly selected sample of urban road segments. We identified the factors associated with speeding through a logistic multiple regression model.

Results With an overall prevalence of 47% (95% CI 45.83 to 48.18), speeding occurred most frequently in Villahermosa (61.07%, 95% CI 59.10 to 63.01) as compared to León (51%, 95% CI 48.07 to 53.92), Cuernavaca (47.6%, 95% CI 45.35 to 49.85) and Guadalajara-Zapopan (20.76%, 95% CI 18.75 to 22.88). Speeding increased in the afternoons, on roads with numerous lanes, on Thursdays and Sundays and in foggy weather, but decreased in cities with speed control strategies and on roads with low visibility. No differences were observed between sexes or among age groups.

Conclusions Evidence from our study highlights the urgent need to implement speed control measures such as changes in road infrastructure and design, and to promote comprehensive speeding legislation aimed at reducing exposure to this important risk factor.

  • accidents
  • traffic accidents
  • accident prevention
  • speed control
  • Mexico and speeding

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Footnotes

  • Contributors EHS conceived the study and collected information with the close collaboration of LGG and FRMI. EHS and RPN conducted a preliminary analysis and drafted the first version of the manuscript. All authors analysed and interpreted the data, critically reviewed previous drafts and approved the final version of the manuscript. On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author guarantees that the information contained in the study is accurate, transparent and true, that no relevant information has been omitted and that any discrepancy among the authors has been adequately resolved and described.

  • Funding This project was funded by the National Council for Science and Technology in Mexico (CONACYT, by its acronym in Spanish) under the FOSISS-SALUD-2014-1-234281 Grant. FRMI also received a scholarship from CONACYT to study a master's degree in Public Health at the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent for publication Not required.

  • Data sharing statement Data are available upon reasonable request.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.