{
  "abstract": "Background Frozen road conditions could be a factor in road traffic injuries, and seasonality and urbanisation level are potential influencing factors. However, few studies have considered this relationship. Therefore, we examined the effect of frozen road conditions on road traffic injury rates and the differences across seasons and urbanisation levels.Methods We used nationwide data on road traffic injuries and weather from the National Emergency Medical Service Run Sheet and the Korea Meteorological Administration, respectively, from 2018 to 2021. We analysed the relationship between frozen road conditions and road traffic injuries by administrative district and day using a generalised estimating equation with log link function and Poisson distribution, stratified by season and urbanisation level.Results After excluding summer, the analysis of 605 254 road traffic injury cases revealed a higher road crash incidence under frozen road conditions, with injuries increasing by 30% (rate ratio (RR): 1.33, 95% CI: 1.30 to 1.37). The relationship between road traffic injury rate and frozen road conditions varied significantly by season and urbanisation level. The stratification analysis showed that the relationship between these two variables was significant in the fall (RR: 2.07, 95% CI: 1.74 to 2.46) and winter (RR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.34 to 1.40). Furthermore, the road traffic injury rate was higher on frozen road conditions in urban (RR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.19 to 1.29) and rural areas (RR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.42 to 1.51), not in metropolitan areas.Conclusion The road traffic injury rate increased under frozen road conditions and varied by season and urbanisation level. These findings indicate the need for road safety strategies tailored according to season and urbanisation level.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)",
        "National Traffic Injury Rehabilitation Research Institute, National Traffic Injury Rehabilitation Hospital, Yangpyeong, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Jun Hee Won"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)",
        "National Traffic Injury Rehabilitation Research Institute, National Traffic Injury Rehabilitation Hospital, Yangpyeong, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Jaehong Yoon"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea (the Republic of)",
        "Laboratory of Emergency Medical Services, Seoul National University Hospital Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)",
        "Disaster Medicine Research Centre, Seoul National University Medical Research Centre, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Joo Jeong"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Urban Planning and Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan-si, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Younshik Chung"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Environmental Planning, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Sangjin Han"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Laboratory of Emergency Medical Services, Seoul National University Hospital Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)",
        "Disaster Medicine Research Centre, Seoul National University Medical Research Centre, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)",
        "Emergency Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Young Sun Ro"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)",
        "National Traffic Injury Rehabilitation Research Institute, National Traffic Injury Rehabilitation Hospital, Yangpyeong, Korea (the Republic of)",
        "Institute of Health Policy and Management, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)"
      ],
      "name": "Ja-Ho Leigh"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Effects of urbanisation and seasons on the relationship between frozen road conditions and road traffic injury: a longitudinal study of national emergency medical service data in South Korea",
  "uid": "0fd3d983-4ea6-5f5a-afc4-827de39cc518"
}