The purpose of this study was to analyse driver suicides, all motor vehicle driver fatalities in Finland from 1987 to 1991. Cases were collected from all driver fatalities (n=1419), as those that accident investigation teams considered possible suicides (n=99). Drivers committing suicide classified according to ICD-9 by two forensic pathologists were selected as cases (n=84). Drivers of unintentional motor vehicle fatalities serves as the control group. While 5.9% of all driver fatalities were classified as suicides, the figure given in the official statistics was 2.6% of all suicides. Driver suicides accounted for 1.2% of all suicides. Fifty percent of driver suicides were committed by men aged between 15 and 34 years. The victims had suffered from life-event stress, mental disorders and had alcohol misuse problems. The cases were usually head-on collisions between two vehicles with a large weight disparity. The conclusions of the study are that misclassification of driver suicides does not significantly influence the total suicide rate. However, people who commit suicide by this method could often be recognised, and prevention of these events would improve traffic safety. (A)
Samenvatting