Citation

O'neill B. Am. Assoc. Automot. Med. Q. J. 1984; 6(2): 29-32.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1984, American Association for Automotive Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Motor vehicle related deaths declined about 20% from early 1981 through the middle of 1983 even though vehicle miles traveled (VMT) increased. Drunken-driving crack-downs have been widely credited for much of this reduction. At the national level, however, deaths in the types of crashes in which alcohol is a leading causal factor did not decline at a greater rate than deaths in other crash types in which alcohol plays a much lesser role. Passenger vehicle occupant, pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorcyclist deaths all declined in parallel, as did urban and rural crashes, and daytime and nighttime crashes. Economic trends and motor vehicle death rates are related, and the poor state of the economy was an important factor in the 1981-1983 decline in motor vehicle related deaths. The causal mechanisms underlying the relationship between the state of the economy and motor vehicle deaths are not yet resolved.