Injury deaths among Hispanic motor vehicle occupants in the US: A comparative study using population, exposure and YPLL mortality measures

The aim of this research was to study the mortality experience of US Hispanic motor vehicle occupants (i.e., drivers and passengers) fatally injured in a traffic crash. The purpose of the study was to identify factors that could assist in the proper targeting of traffic safety interventions. The research consisted of a retrospective study using secondary data sources: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (1999-2001); census population counts and estimates (1999-2001); and, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) estimates, 2001. Three different mortality measures were examined: population-based mortality rate, exposure-based mortality rate, and YPLL rate. Rates for three groups were compared: Hispanics, Black non-Hispanics (BNHs), and White non-Hispanics (WNHs). The implications on the use of different mortality measures were explored. The results indicated that Hispanic MV occupants had a lower overall age adjusted population-based mortality rate than BNHs and WNHs (11.4, 12.1, and 13.3 MV occupant deaths per 100,000 population, respectively). A similar pattern was observed with the age adjusted YPLL rates (446.4, 465.2, and 510.8 per 100,000 population, respectively). However, Hispanic mortality experience seemed more severe than BNH and WNH mortality when crude YPLL rates (504.0, 484.9, 494.5 YPLL per 100,000 population, respectively) and VMT death rates were examined (3.0, 2.3, and 1.5 per 100 million VMT, respectively). Mortality measures more sensitive to younger population and to MV travel exposure indicate a more severe problem among Hispanics than the traditional mortality rate. In addition, for all three mortality measures, passenger-only mortality was higher among Hispanics than among BNHs and WNHs.