The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #61884

Rory A Austin, PhD and Barbara Faigin. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NVS-133, US Department of Transportation, 400 7th St, SW, Room 5320, Washington, DC 20590, 202-493-2631, raustin@nhtsa.dot.gov

Projections indicate that the number of US residents aged 65 and older will increase from 35 million in 2000 to 63 million by 2025. This increase is important for those concerned about preventing and controlling vehicle-related injuries because the older population is also increasing their vehicle travel. The purpose of this paper is to compare exposure and risk patterns for the oldest occupants to their younger counterparts in terms of travel exposure and crash involvement. Travel exposure is captured through two nationwide transportation surveys. Between 1995 and 2001, the total miles and the average miles per person increased dramatically for people 65 and older. Differences in time and location of travel for older occupants also have implications for access to emergency medical services. Information regarding crash involvement, fatalities, and injuries is captured using three of NHTSA’s crash databases. The results demonstrate that the likelihood of involvement in a side impact crash increases with age and that older occupants are more likely to be in a car struck by a light truck than younger occupants. The crash characteristics for fatalities, incapacitating injuries, and occupants taken to a hospital or treatment facility are compared for older and younger occupants, and we explore differences in injury severity and body region across age groups. The results show that the injury risk as well as injury severity from side impact crashes increases with age. We conclude that programs addressing injury control for older occupants need to focus more on vehicle and crash characteristics.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the most prevalent crash and vehicle types represented in the mortality data for occupants over 65.
• List the observed differences in morbidity data across age groups.
• Describe the most important factors other than crash or vehicle type that account for differences between younger and older occupant injuries and fatalities.
• Assess the implications of these findings regarding crash and vehicle characteristics for emergency medical services and trauma center treatment of older occupant injury.
• Given the type of crash involvement of older drivers, develop a research plan pursuing the most relevant areas of human factors research.

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.