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The fast and the fatal: street racing fatal crashes in the United States

¹ Intermountain Injury Control Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
² Intermountain Injury Control Research Center and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care, Primary Children’s Medical Center, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah

Correspondence to:
Stacey Knight
615 Arapeen Drive, Suite 202, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108, USA; Stacey.Knight{at}hsc.utah.edu

ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to determine the annual incidence of fatal motor vehicle crashes involving street racing and to describe the characteristics of these crashes compared to other fatal crashes in the United States. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System data for 1998–2001 were used for the analyses. There were 149 568 fatal crashes and 315 (0.21%) involved street racing and 399 fatalities occurred in these crashes. In contrast to other fatal crashes, street racing fatal crashes were more likely to occur on urban roadways and were nearly six times more likely to occur at travel speeds 65 mph. Compared with other drivers involved in fatal crashes, street racers were more likely to be teenagers, male, and have previous crashes and driving violations. Street racing involves risky driving behaviors and warrants further attention.

Keywords: motor vehicle crashes; speeding; street racing; fatality analysis reporting system; teen drivers

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; FARS, Fatality Analysis Reporting System; NHTSA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; OR, odds ratio