Objective: The Eastern Mediterranean Region suffers disproportionately from paediatric traffic-related injuries. Despite governmental laws, Lebanon—an eastern Mediterranean country—has low child restraint (CR) use prevalence. This study examined the impact of using car seat distribution, and child passenger safety education and awareness intervention to improve child passenger safety knowledge and practices among caregivers.

Methods: This study recruited Lebanese caregivers
with one child or more, using a 4-wheel motor vehicle, and not using a car seat. The intervention comprised an educational session followed by a car seat or booster seat distribution and installation check by a certified child passenger safety technician. A baseline assessment questionnaire was used to identify reasons for prior CR non-use. A child passenger safety knowledge test was administered before, immediately after and 3 months postintervention to assess child passenger safety knowledge retention and compare it to the baseline using the conditional logit model for pre–post interventions.

Results: Fifty-eight participants underwent the intervention. Affordability was identified as the primary reason for car seat non-use. Three months after the intervention, compliance with CRs use was reported at 100%, and correct responses on the knowledge test significantly increased (p<0.05) for all items except for harness tightness (p=0.673).

Conclusion: Our child passenger safety intervention resulted in improved knowledge and increased self- reported use of CRs in a caregivers’ cohort in Lebanon. Further efforts should address sociocultural and economic barriers and the lack of local child passenger safety technicians to mitigate the region’s paediatric road traffic injury and death toll.

Objective: Road traffic injury accounts for a substantial human and economic burden globally. Understanding risk factors contributing to fatal injuries is of paramount importance.

Method: In this study, we proposed a model that adopts a hybrid ensemble machine learning classifier structured from sequential minimal optimization and decision trees to identify risk factors contributing to fatal road injuries.  

Results: The model was constructed, trained, tested, and validated using the Lebanese Road Accidents Platform (LRAP) database of 8482 road crash incidents, with fatality occurrence as the outcome variable. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the influence of multiple factors on fatality occurrence. Seven out of the nine selected independent variables were significantly associated with fatality occurrence, namely, crash type, injury severity, spatial cluster-ID, and crash time (hour).

Conclusion: Evidence gained from the model data analysis will be adopted by policymakers and key stakeholders to gain insights into major contributing factors associated with fatal road crashes and to translate knowledge into safety programs and enhanced road policies.  

Objective: Road traffic injury is a major public health problem in Lebanon. This study aims to assess compliance with safety measures including seatbelt and helmet use in adults and children, and the prevalence of distracted driving among road users across Lebanon different gover- norates. It further aims to investigate predictors of compliance with seatbelt and helmet use.

Method: A cross-sectional observational field study was conducted at multiple governorates in Leba- non. Data collected included information on vehicles, road users and passengers. Univari- ate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify trends in compliance with safety measures and distracted driving, and predictors of compliance.

Results: A total of 13,790 road users were observed. The rate of seatbelt and helmet use were 37.4% and 38.9%, respectively, among adults. Distracted behavior was present in 23.7% of car drivers and 22.8% of motorcyles adult riders. Compliance with seatbelt use was lower out- side the capital city Beirut [OR = 5.236 (4.566–6.004), P <0.001], in males [OR = 1.688 (1.52–1.874), P <0.001], in drivers of taxi/vans [OR = 1.929 (1.71–2.175), P <0.001] or trucks [OR = 3.014 (2.434–3.732), P <0.001], and vehicles of lower price [OR = 3.291 (2.836–3.819), P <0.001]. Children vehicle passengers were 87.9% while motorcycles pil- lion riders were 12.1%. The rates for child car restraint and helmet use were 25.8% and 20.1%, respectively. Predictors of failure to use a child restraint system in vehicles were the youngest age group (0–5 years) [OR = 2.06, CI (1.40–3.02), P<0.001], sitting in the back seat [OR = 1.56, CI (1.09–2.23), P<0.001], ridding in the afternoon [OR = 1.43, CI (1.05– 1.94), P = 0.02], and being outside Beirut [OR = 2.12, CI (1.41–3.17), P<0.00].

Conclusion: Public awareness efforts and better enforcement of road safety legislations are needed to increase the alarmingly low rates of compliance with safety measures and safeguard lives on the road.

Objective: Road traffic injury (RTI) is a significant yet poorly characterized cause of morbidity and mortality in the Middle East. This hospital-based-study examined RTI in Lebanon and provided an understanding of their characteristics.


Methods: We collected prospective RTI data from three participating hospitals over 3 months using a designed tool based on Canadian CHIRPP and WHO tools. We per- formed logistic regression analysis to examine the relationship between contributing risk factors (age, sex) and injury types as well as the association of safety measures used (seatbelts or helmets) and body parts injured.


Results: A total of 153 patients were collected. Male preponderance with 72%, with mean age 32.6 (SD = 14.9) years. RTI was highest among passengers aged 15 to 29 (48%). Motorcyclists comprised the greatest injury proportion (38%), followed by vehicle-occupants (35%), and pedestrians (25%) (P = .04). Hip injuries represented the most affected body part (48.7%), followed by head/neck (38.2%). Only 31% (n = 47) of victims applied safety measures (seatbelts or helmets). Six drivers (7%) reported cell phone use at collision. The use of safety measures was associated with a substantial reduction in head/neck injuries (P = .03), spine injuries (P = .049), and lower risk of traumatic brain injury (TBI) (P = .02).


Conclusions: RTI is a major health problem in Lebanon. Safety measures, though poorly adhered to, were associated with less severe injuries, and should be further promoted via awareness campaigns and enforcement. Trauma registries are needed to assess the RTI burden and inform safety interventions and quality-of-care improvement programs.