Emergency medical service (EMS) response combined with the increasing availability and usage of advanced automatic collision notification (AACN) systems in motor vehicles are important components in the effort to reduce fatalities and serious injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. This research note examines fatal motor vehicle crash locations in relation to the coverage area of helicopter-based EMS and is a first step towards a better understanding of the contributions of EMS and AACN to reducing the injury severity outcome of motor vehicle crashes. This analysis could not determine the type of EMS response (if at all), only whether a crash occurred where helicopter-based EMS was available. Key results of this analysis show: *About 80 percent of motor vehicle crash fatalities from 2005 to 2009 occurred within the 20-minute helicopter coverage area serving level I or II trauma centers. * In 2005 to 2009 about 64 percent of fatally injured people outside the coverage area died at the crash scene, compared to 55 percent inside the coverage area. (Author/publisher)
Abstract