Journal of Safety Research

Journal of Safety Research

Volume 33, Issue 3, 1 October 2002, Pages 411-419
Journal of Safety Research

Distractions and the risk of car crash injury: The effect of drivers' age

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4375(02)00034-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Problem: Motor-vehicle accidents are one of the major causes of injury in most motorized countries. Driver distractions have been suggested as a contributor to traffic accidents. Moreover, age of the driver seems to have a role in the relationship between distractions and car crashes. But very few studies have investigated the effect of driver's age on this relationship. This exploratory study investigated the association between distractions, both inside and outside the vehicle, and the increased risk of car crash injury among drivers across different ages. Method: This study used a case series design to analyze data routinely collected by the NSW police in Australia. A special focus of this study was on how drivers' age affects the risk of car crash injury, which was determined by using a well-documented risk estimation methodology. Results: The results obtained indicated that drivers of all ages, on the whole, are more susceptible to distractions inside the vehicle than distractions coming from outside. Age was shown to affect the relationship between in-vehicle distraction and the risk of car crash injury. A separate analysis was also conducted on hand-held phone usage while driving with results supplementing previous findings reported in the literature. Impact to industry: Safety strategies to countermeasure in-vehicle distractions have been suggested and discussed.

Introduction

Injury of any type poses a severe threat to all ages of the population in most developed countries (Murry & Lopez, 1997). Motor-vehicle accidents are one of the major causes of injury in most motorized countries (Evans, 1991). According to the Global Burden of Disease Study (Murry & Lopez, 1996), motor-vehicle-related injury was estimated as the fourth largest cause of disability-adjusted life years lost (DALYS) in prosperous countries in 1999. In Australia, car crash injuries are also the main cause of hospital presentations, admission, and fatalities among young people, in particular, young males aged 17–25 (NH & MRC, 1999).

Over the past few decades, much effort has been devoted to researching risks and preventable factors of car crash injury, particularly among young drivers Evans, 1993, Goldstein, 1962, McGwin & Brown, 1999, Norris et al., 2000. The aim of these efforts is to derive countermeasures, based on the evidence obtained from research, to the problem of motor vehicle-related mortality and morbidity.

Amongst various factors studied, inattention of the driver has long been suggested as a contributor to traffic accidents (Treat et al., 1977). However, until recently, not much attention has been paid to the distraction of drivers as one of the important risk factors for car crash involvement and injuries. The refocussing of attention is mainly due to the widespread use of mobile cellular telephones, a significant component of distraction while driving (Min & Redelmeier, 1998).

There is a growing body of literature on the effects of mobile phone usage on driving performance Alm & Nilsson, 1994, Alm & Nilsson, 1995, Brookhuis et al., 1991, Irwin et al., 2000, Lamble et al., 1999, McKnight & McKnight, 1993. In terms of the relationship between in-vehicle mobile phone use as a distraction and car crash involvement and injury, results obtained from epidemiological studies provide affirmative evidence Parkes & Hooijmeijer, 2000, Redeleier & Tibshirani, 1997, Violanti, 1997, Violanti, 1998, Violanti & Marshall, 1996. In general, these results indicate that there is a significant association between mobile phone use and the risk of car collision and injury. In a case-control study by Violanti and Marshall (1996), it was found that talking on the mobile phone while driving more than 50 min per month was associated with a nearly six-fold increase in the risk of traffic accident involvement when compared with those who talked less that 50 min. In another case-crossover study, using information obtained from self-reported questionnaires, police reports, and telephone records, results indicated that the risk of car collision was four times higher when a mobile phone was used as compared to not being used (Redeleier & Tibshirani, 1997). In the two other studies by Violanti, 1997, Violanti, 1998, the age of the driver was included in the analyses. The results suggested that there seemed to have been an interactive effect of age of driver and phone use on the risk of collision and injury.

In terms of other forms of distraction, very few epidemiological studies have been conducted. Two studies investigated the association between lighting or smoking a cigarette while driving and car crash collision Brison, 1990, Violanti & Marshall, 1996. Results obtained from both studies suggested that there is no significant relationship between distraction due to smoking or lighting cigarettes and car crash. Very few studies have actually investigated the effect of distraction as a whole on the risk of car crash collision or injury. Much less have studied the effect of drivers' age on the relationship between distraction and car crash injury.

The aim of this exploratory study is to further investigate the relationship between any distraction while driving and the risk of car crash injury, with particular focus on the age of drivers.

Section snippets

Methods

Data used in this study were made available from the Traffic Accident Database System (TADS) by the Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales (NSW), Australia for the period between 1996 and 2000. The TADS is used to collate information on all road traffic accidents that occur on the roads in NSW. Data were derived from the traffic incidents reported by the NSW police. According to the law in NSW, police are required to attend a serious accident if a person was killed or injured, or a

Results

There were 414,136 crashes reported to the police within the period of 1996–2000 in NSW, Australia. Among these, 63,779 (15.3%) crashes resulted in a driver being killed or injured. As summarized in Table 1, there was a slight increase in the average injury and total crash rates from the 16–19 age group (43.93/10,000 pop) to the 20–24 (45.13/10,000 pop) age group, then a general decline in both rates as the age of drivers increased. As shown, the injury rate and total crash rate increased again

Discussion

This study investigated the association between distraction while driving and the risk of car crash fatality and injury, with a special focus on the age of drivers. Distraction, as defined in this study, covers a wide range of activities, situations, and circumstances that a driver may be exposed to while performing a driving task. Some distractions are initiated by the driver, and others are acute situations that demand a quick response from the driver. Most in-vehicle distractions belong to

Lawrence Lam is an epidemiologist working at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney, Australia. His primary research interests are in injury, trauma, and emergency medicine in children and adolescents.

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    Lawrence Lam is an epidemiologist working at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney, Australia. His primary research interests are in injury, trauma, and emergency medicine in children and adolescents.

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