Introduction:

Traffic accidents (TA) constitute a significant cause of mortality in the world. In the last years, they have occupied the first places as causes of mortality in the Metropolitan District of Quito (DMQ). The classical conceptual frameworks for addressing the problem of TA mortality have been the public health approach, the systemic model, and the Haddon matrix.

Development:

The article presents the description of the characteristics of the classical models and the analysis of four of their forms of reductionism from the perspective of Critical Epidemiology (CE) and critical space theory: The reduction of its explanation to the action of an external cause (kinetic force) exerted on the human body that exceeds its resistance; the view of space as mere physical continent or administrative unit; the consideration of the social character of transit events as summation of individual events, and the organization of social groups with stratification criteria and not based on social class. In addition, it is described how, through an exploratory study of several phases, the central categories of the CE were operationalized: social segregation of space, social class, and epidemiological profile, in the context of mortality by TA in DMQ.

Conclusion:

The approach taken by the CE allows for a more comprehensive understanding of TA mortality as a result of socio-economic determinations, ethnocultural processes, and social construction of gender, typical of the different social classes.

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