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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Rebecca Smith, BS, Lawrence J. Cook, MStat, and J Michael Dean, MD, MBA. Intermountain Injury Control Research Center, University of Utah, 615 Arapeen Drive, Suite 202, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, 801.581.3866, Becky.Smith@hsc.utah.edu
ABSTRACT Objective. To identify variables that are associated with fatigue-related crashes in Utah from 1992 to 1997 and determine the effect of fatigue on hospitalization or death after motor vehicle crashes. Methods. Drivers in motor vehicle crashes from 1992 to 1997 were identified from Utah motor vehicle crash records. Probabilistic methods were used to link these records with hospital discharge records for the same years. Descriptive statistics were performed to describe the attributes of fatigue-related crashes. Generalized estimating equations were used to predict injury severity using “hospitalization or death” as the outcome and crash and driver characteristics as the explanatory variables. Results. The analysis database consisted of 499,355 crash driver records from 1992 to 1997, which includes 5,699 (1.3%) fatigue-related crashes. Drivers in fatigue-related crashes tend to be young males who are more likely to be intoxicated and not wearing a seatbelt as compared to all other drivers in crashes. These crashes frequently occur between 11pm and 8am, on the weekends, and during the summer. Additionally, fatigue-related crashes are more likely than all other crashes to occur on the freeway and in rural areas where running off the road usually results in a rollover or single vehicle crash with a fixed object. Fatigue also contributes to an increased likelihood of hospitalization or death. (All results significant at p<0.001) Conclusions. Efforts should be made to inform drivers about the risks of fatigued driving. In addition, measures applied to roads or vehicles to prevent drivers from falling asleep are needed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Motor Vehicles, Risk Factors
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.