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Factors affecting survival in head-on vehicle collisions
Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of unintentional life lost around the world. While the number of deaths has declined in the recent years, still around 30,000 deaths occur in U.S. annually due to motor-vehicle crashes. This study investigated the circumstances that affected survivability in head-on vehicle collisions.
Methods
The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database was analyzed to estimate the risk factors associated with the survival of the drivers in head-on vehicle collisions. The risk of death of one driver versus another outcome was modeled using conditional logistic regression of 1108 crashes. Since the speeds of vehicles involved in collisions are not readily available, the matching of head-on collided vehicles allows control over kinetic energy released providing better estimations for associated risks.
Results/Outcomes;
The results showed that the driver’s chance of survival was increased by driving a vehicle with a higher mass, driving a newer vehicle, being younger, being a male, using a seatbelt and having the airbag deployed in the crash. Also the majority of the crashes involved 15-24 year age group and their risk of death were significantly lower than older drivers in head-on collisions.
Conclusion
These results indicated that improvements in vehicle safety technologies have lowered the death risk in head-on collisions; however, the vehicle mass incompatibility was a major cause of drivers’ fatalities. This data analysis approach may be used as a surveillance tool to measure the trends in risk factors as well as to assess and minimize risk of motor-vehicle deaths.
Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciencesEpidemiology
Learning Objectives:
Assess the risk factors associated with fatality in a head-on collision.
Identify the issues surrounding this outcome.
Keyword(s): Motor Vehicles, Surveillance
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an epidemiology Phd student at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. One of my scientific interest is traffic accident analysis and minimizing the inequity in motor vehicle collisions.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.