Today traffic accidents are the first cause of morbidity in the group of external causes among women. Modern women have changed their role, exposing themselves to new risks. So, this study had as its purpose, characterize women involved in traffic accidents and to describe these accidents. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with information obtained from the Traffic Accident Report Bulletins-BOAT of the 4th Military Police Station in Maringá, Traffic Section. Data were classified and analyzed with Spearman's non-paramedic correlation tests and the chi-square variable independence test. Women involved in traffic accidents are, in their majority, single (34.0%), from 21 to 30 years old (49%), with a high school degree (36.0%), driving for eight years or less (38.8%), and predominantly the drivers (65.0%). Accidents occurred mainly on weekdays and in the afternoon and at night. Lesions affected most frequently women under 20 and over 51 years of age. There were more collision accidents with automobiles (69.0%), with a great run over ratio (14.2%), involving women above 50 years of age with less schooling. When married and well educated, women are more attentive to the use of safety devices. They were more involved in car accidents than in motorcycle accidents. And in these accidents, they were 31 years old or less and with complete high school and incomplete college education. These data suggest a new profile of women in traffic, and these features and their consequences should be more constantly followed up in research, guiding preventive measures and campaigns.
Accidents traffic; Women's health; Accident prevention; Epidemiology
