Introduction:

Annually, 1,35 million lives are lost due to road accidents; their occurrence has been related, in addition to behavioral factors, to social inequalities.

Objective:

To analyze urban-rural social inequalities in mortality from traffic accidents in Colombia from 1998-2019.

Methods and materials:

Ecological study based on the analysis of standardized mortality rates adjusted for age and sex of urban and rural population groups stratified by sex. Joinpoint regression analyses were performed, and absolute and relative simple inequality measures were calculated.

Results:

There were 139.323 deaths from road accidents; in Colombia mortality rates from this cause has been decreasing. In urban areas, the reduction is more significant than in rural areas. Disparities in mortality between urban and rural areas have been narrowing, however, in the case of men and women, they have been increasing.

Discussion:

Reducing the mortality rate from road accidents suggests that road safety interventions have been effective. Behavioral factors can explain the higher mortality in men. Urban-rural inequalities can be related to development dynamics.

Conclusions:

There is a significant reduction in the mortality rate due to road accidents in urban areas. There are urban-rural inequalities in mortality from this cause. Road safety policies must be based on an integrative approach linked to other political agendas.