In the study presented in this scientific poster, police records (n=147,037) of crashes occurring on Maryland roadways during 1998 were analysed. The aim was to examine the differences in characteristics of drivers involved in single-vehicle and multiple-vehicle collisions. Differences in driver injury patterns between the two crash types were ascertained by linking the police reports with corresponding injury information documented by same year driver hospitalisation records (n=75,266) through the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES). Some results are: According to police records, 21% of drivers of cars, vans or light trucks were involved in single-vehicle crashes in the state of Maryland, yet 41% of driver fatalities were due to single-vehicle collisions; 95% of driver fatalities resulting from single-vehicle crashes involved a fixed object; Compared with drivers in multivehicle crashes, drivers in single-vehicle collisions were significantly more likely to be male, under age 20, unbelted, culpable for the crash and more seriously injured, as assessed by the investigating officer; Using probabilistic linkage methods it was determined that, of the 2328 drivers hospitalised in 1998, 33% were involved in a single-vehicle crash, 90% of which involved a fixed object; and multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that a disproportionately number of serious brain and extremity injuries occur in fixed object crashes, compared with injuries incurred in multivehicle crashes. The results also show that single-vehicle crashes differ significantly from multivehicle crashes concerning environmental (for example, inclement weather) and roadway characteristics (such as curved roads).
Abstract