【Abstract】 Objective: To investigate the prevalence
of mobile phone and seat belt use in driving in college stu-
dents aged 18-24 years.
Methods: The study consisted of two phases. In the
first phase, a questionnaire was given to 265 college
students. The sample contained 188 males and 77 females.
In the second phase, the data pertaining to road accident
injuries from March 20, 2007 to March 20, 2008 were collected
from Bahonar Central Hospital in Kerman, Iran, and analyzed.
Results: There were 14.0% of male and 19.0% of fe-
male participants traveled belted while driving on urban
roads. It indicated that the participants unbelted or using
mobile phone were more involved in accidents in last three
years. This study also revealed that 19.0% of male and 4.2%
of female drivers considered using mobile phone in driving
not hazardous. The highest injury and property damage
crash rates were 87 and 137 per 100 000 inhabitants, which
occured in male group aged 18-24 years. And 30% of all
fatalities were 19-24 years old.
Conclusions: More than 50% of college students trav-
eled unbelted. The females were less involved in road acci-
dent injuries. The college students aged 18-24 years had
the highest percentages of trauma and head injury.
Key words: Craniocerebral trauma; Accidents, traffic;
Seat belts; Cellular phone