Fatigue is a significant factor in motor vehicle collisions across Canada. Behaviours associated with fatigued driving that can increase crash risk include inconsistent speed, frequent lane changes or weaving, not respecting road signs and other traffic control devices, sudden braking, and speeding (Robertson et al. 2009). In a survey of Canadian motorists in 2011, 18.5% of respondents admitted that they had fallen asleep or nodded off while driving in the past year (Marcoux et al. 2012). This fact sheet, sponsored by State Farm®, summarizes the characteristics of fatally injured victims involved in fatigue-related collisions in Canada from 2000 to 2013. Data for this fact sheet are derived from TIRF’s National Fatality Database which is jointly funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and State Farm®. Fatality data from British Columbia from 2011 to 2013 were not available at the time this fact sheet was prepared. As a result, Canadian data presented have been re-calculated to exclude this jurisdiction and make equitable comparisons. The objective of this fact sheet is to provide a review of the magnitude and trends of fatigue-related motor vehicle crashes in Canada using indicators such as driver age and sex, vehicle type, alcohol and drug use, time of crash and number of occupants. Fatigue-related crashes are defined as those in which either police-reported collision data or coroner/medical examiner information cites fatigue as a factor for one of the parties involved in the collision. Fatigue-related fatalities have been differentiated in this fact sheet by victim type. These victim types are: * Fatally injured drivers who were fatigued; * Passengers, pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles who were struck by a fatigued driver who survived; and, * Victims in crashes where the police-reported collision data did not specify which driver was fatigued or where it was not possible to determine which of the occupants was driving. The total number of fatigue-related fatalities from 2000 to 2013 is shown in Figure 1. These data included all victim types of fatigue-related fatalities that were described above. The number of fatigue-related fatalities in Canada rose from 109 to 133 between 2000 and 2002, and generally decreased to 72 in 2010. There were 91 fatigue-related fatalities in 2013. The number of fatigue-related fatalities in Canada by victim type from 2000 to 2013 is shown in Figure 2. Fatally injured drivers have represented half of the fatigue-related fatalities during this period. There were 50 of these cases in 2000. The number decreased to a low of 39 in 2010, then reached 51 in 2013. The number of passengers, pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles who were killed by a fatigued driver generally decreased from 41 in 2000 to 22 in 2010, and stabilized at 27 fatalities in 2013. Lastly, the number of fatigue-related fatalities in which the fatigue-related driver was undetermined rose from 18 to 27 between 2000 and 2003, then decreased to 12 in 2013. The rate per 100,000 population for both fatigue and non-fatigue-related fatalities in Canada from 2000 to 2013 is shown in Figure 3. The rate of fatigue-related fatalities between 2000 and 2002 rose from .36 persons per 100,000 population to a peak of .42, steadily decreased to .21 in 2010 and rose to .26 in 2013. Non-fatigue-related fatalities per 100,000 population have decreased from 7.4 persons to 3.82 in 2013. There were decreases in the ratio of both fatigue and non-fatigue-related fatalities from 2002 to 2010. In 2011, the ratio of fatigue-related fatalities increased sharply, then decreased until 2013. However, for non-fatigue-related fatalities the ratio continued to decrease between 2000 and 2013. The ratio of fatigue related fatalities per 100,000 population has not decreased as steadily as the ratio of non-fatigue related fatalities. Another means of comparing fatigue and non-fatigue-related fatalities is to base the fatality rate on the number of licensed drivers. The rate of fatalities in both fatigue and non-fatigue-related fatalities per 100,000 licensed drivers from 2000 to 2013 is shown in Figure 4. The ratio of fatigue-related fatalities per 100,000 licensed drivers decreased from 0.53 persons in 2000 to a low of 0.31 in 2010, and rose again to 0.37 in 2013. In comparison, the ratio of non-fatigue-related fatalities per 100,000 licensed drivers decreased from 11.0 persons in 2000 to 5.45 in 2013. Similar to Figure 3, there was a decrease in both fatigue and non-fatigue-related fatalities between 2002 and 2010. Once again, in 2011, there was a sharp increase in the ratio of fatigue-related fatalities. The prevalence of the role of fatigue in motor vehicle fatalities from 2000 to 2013 is shown in Figure 5. Overall, the percentage of fatalities that were fatigue-related is relatively low. However, it is worth noting that the role of fatigue in fatal crashes is difficult to determine if there are no eyewitnesses or if other contributing factors (e.g., alcohol, drugs) take precedence in police reports. In 2000, 4.6% of fatalities were fatigue-related compared to 2013 where 6.4% of all fatalities were fatigue-related. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting