Citation

Evans L. Proc. Am. Assoc. Automot. Med. Annu. Conf. 1987; 31: 59-77.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1987, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This work was performed to investigate, as a function of age and sex: 1) driver involvement in crashes in the same high severity range; 2) the threat drivers pose to other road users (pedestrians); and 3) the contribution of motor vehicle fatalities to overall mortality. Six data sources are used: fatal accident reporting system (traffic fatalities); Bureau of the Census (population); Federal Highway Administration (driver licenses); Nationwide Personal Transportation Study (distance of travel per driver for 1983); National Center for Health Statistics (1984 mortality data); and recent research giving age and sex dependence of fatality risk from the same physical insult. This last source was used to infer involvement rates in crashes in the same high severity range, because fatality risk depends on crash severity and occupant survivability. All of 14 variables studied (driver fatalities per unit distance of travel, drivers involved in crashes in which pedestrians were killed, etc.) were higher for younger drivers; some variables, including involvement rates in severe crashes, increased when driver age exceeded about 60, but always to values still well below those for younger drivers. All variables were higher for males than females; in particular, male involvement per unit distance of travel in severe crashes was more than twice that for females at all ages below 35 years.