Assessing the global data availability and characteristics of eight risk factors for road traffic injury: an evaluation study across 194 countries/territories, 2000-2019.

Background: Freely accessible data concerning modifiable risk factors for road traffic injury are critical for research and for evidence-based policymaking. This study investigated free-access availability and the major characteristics of nationally representative data on eight major risk factors for road traffic injury across 194 World Health Organization member countries/territories from 2000 to 2019. Methods: We systematically searched and reviewed data sources from governmental departments, multi-country road safety research projects, and international organisations. Two researchers independently searched, screened, and extracted data. We assessed free-access availability of data for eight risk factors based on the presence of data from 2000 to 2019. Major data characteristics were evaluated for all included data sources, consisting of operational definitions, method of data collection, and sampling method. Results: We identified 79 sources providing free-access available data on at least one of the eight risk factors. During 2000-2019, the number of countries/territories with freely-access data generally rose over time. However, only 134 of 194 countries/territories (69%) had at least one year of free-access data involving one or more risk factors, and 70% of those 134 countries/territories were high-income or upper middle-income countries. Large data heterogeneity existed across the data sources in terms of operational definitions used, method of data collection, years of data coverage, and sampling method. Operational definitions varied widely across the eight risk factors, ranging from 3 definitions used for fatigue driving to 17 definitions for seatbelts; and the proportion of data sources that adopted the recommended Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) definitions ranged from 25.5% for distracted driving to 77.8% for child restraint systems. Roadside observations were predominantly used to collect exposure data for six risk factors. Many free-access data sets were completely or partially based on non-probability sampling, and the sampling information was unknown for some additional data sources. Conclusions: Availability of free-access data on road traffic injury risks generally improved globally, but was still absent for 60 countries/territories. The substantial heterogeneity of free-access data across the existing data sources warrants further research efforts and international coordination.