@article{ref1,
title="Correlation of ride sharing service availability and decreased alcohol-related motor vehicle collision incidence and fatality",
journal="Journal of trauma and acute care surgery",
year="2020",
author="Friedman, Jessica and Hendrix, Vera and Fustok, Judy and Reza, Tara and Madda, Prathima and Smith, Alison and Mayer, Scott and Duchesne, Juan and Greiffenstein, Patrick and Schroll, Rebecca",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Alcohol-related motor vehicle collisions (AR-MVCs) account for ~30% of all U.S. traffic fatalities. Ride-sharing services (RSS) have existed since 2010, but few studies to date have investigated their impact on AR-MVCs. We hypothesized that the availability of RSS would be correlated with a decrease in AR-MVCs at an urban level 1 trauma center.   METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted of all AR-MVC trauma activations at a Level 1 trauma center from 2012-2018. Additional data were gathered from regional governmental traffic and law enforcement databases including crash incidence, fatalities, and demographics. Data were compared pre-and post-RSS and analyzed using an unpaired t-test with p<0.05 considered significant.   RESULTS: There were 1474 patients in AR-MVCs during the study period. There was a significant decrease in the annual average proportion of MVCs that were AR-MVCs pre- vs post-RSS (39% vs. 29%, p=0.02) as well as a decrease in the average annual incidence of fatal AR-MVCs (11.6 vs 5, p=0.02). Subset analysis showed a decrease in AR-MVC incidence in 18 to 29-year-olds (12.7% vs 7.5%; p=0.03), which was also demonstrated by data from a local law enforcement database. Availability of RSS was also correlated with a decreased proportion of nighttime AR-MVCs (14.7% vs 7.6%, p=0.03) and decreased number of DWIs (1198.0 ±78.5 vs 612.8 ±137.6, p=<0.01).   CONCLUSIONS: We found that the incidence of both total AR-MVCs and fatal AR-MVCs presenting to our trauma center decreased after the introduction of RSS. RSS may play a role in preventing AR-MVCs. Further research is needed to correlate AR-MVC incidence with granular proprietary RSS usage data and to account for any confounding factors. Future studies may identify ways to better utilize RSS availability as a targeted intervention for certain demographic groups to prevent AR-MVCs.Therapeutic/Care Management, Level 4.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2163-0755",
doi="10.1097/TA.0000000000002802",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/TA.0000000000002802"
}