Affiliation:
1. 1 From the Intermountain Injury Control Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Abstract
Objective.
To evaluate the potential effectiveness of graduated driver licensing programs using population-based linked data for motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) that involved teenaged drivers (TDs).
Methods.
Utah crash, inpatient hospital discharge, and emergency department databases were analyzed and probabilistically linked. We computed hospital charges and compared violations, contributing factors, seatbelt use, and passengers for TDs (16–17 years old) relative to adult drivers (18–59 years old).
Results.
TDs comprised 5.8% of the study population, but were involved in 19.0% of MVCs. TD crashes resulted in $11 million in inpatient hospital charges and 158 fatalities. TD crashes were 1.70 times (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.34, 2.04) less likely to result in fatal injury to drivers than were crashes that involved adult drivers, but TDs were 2.20 times (95% CI: 1.96, 2.47) more likely to receive citations. The following were findings of the study: 1) 11% of all TD crashes but 19% of fatal TD crashes occurred between 2200 and 0600 hours; 2) TDs used seatbelts less often than did adult drivers (79.1% vs 84.4%) and less often with passengers present (81.9% vs 75.0%; 3) TDs were 1.72 times (95% CI: 1.38, 2.14) more likely to be involved in crashes that resulted in seriously or fatally injured occupants when driving with passengers than when driving alone.
Conclusions.
TDs are overrepresented in MVCs. TD crashes have a higher fatality rate at night, and TDs wear seatbelts less often than do adult drivers. Passengers affect TD crash characteristics. Graduated driver licensing programs that target state-specific characteristics of TDs may decrease morbidity and mortality.
Publisher
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Subject
Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Reference28 articles.
1. The teenage driver.;American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Injury and Poison Prevention and Committee on Adolescence;Pediatrics,1996
2. Involvement by young drivers in fatal motor-vehicle crashes—United States, 1988–1995.;Centers for Disease Control;MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep,1996
3. Differences in young driver crash involvement in states with varying licensure practices.;Ferguson;Accid Anal Prev,1996
4. Teenage driving fatalities.;Liu;J Pediatr Surg,1998
5. Traffic accident involvement rates by driver age and gender.;Massie;Accid Anal Prev,1995
Cited by
30 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献