Injury PreventionMotor vehicle crash fatalities: A comparison of hispanic and non-hispanic motorists in colorado*,**
Introduction
Traffic crashes are a leading cause of death, injury, and disability in the United States. In 1997, unintentional injuries were the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, and traffic crashes were the leading cause of injury-related death.1 Traffic-related injuries also were the second leading cause of years of potential life lost before age 75.2
Many of the risk factors for crash involvement and fatal injury are well known. These risk factors include personal characteristics, such as male sex and youth, as well as driver behaviors, especially alcohol use, speeding, and lack of occupant restraints.3 Rural location, roadway characteristics, and vehicle design and crashworthiness also affect crash and injury risk.3, 4
Race and ethnicity may also be associated with a higher risk of death in traffic crashes. Baker et al5 reported that black and Hispanic children ages 5 to 12 are almost 3 times as likely to die in a traffic crash, and black and Hispanic male teenagers are almost twice as likely to die in a crash, compared with non-Hispanic white motorists. A recent study in Arizona found that American Indians had higher motor vehicle crash fatality rates, regardless of age or sex, location (urban or rural), or crash category (occupant or pedestrian).6
The elevated risk of death in traffic crashes in minority groups is unexplained. One roadside survey of non–crash involved motorists indicated that alcohol use is higher among black and Hispanic drivers,7 and other studies have reported that black and Hispanic motorists are overrepresented in alcohol-related traffic crashes.8, 9, 10 A study of injured motorists admitted to trauma centers in Illinois reported that black and Hispanic crash victims had lower rates of safety belt use and higher rates of alcohol involvement than white motorists.8 A study of Hispanic farm workers in California, consisting of face-to-face interviews and observational surveys, found low use rates for safety belts and cars seats.11 Surveys by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and others have found that safety belt use is lower among blacks, Hispanic Americans, and American Indians compared with the general driving population.12, 13 Racial and ethnic differences in fatality rates may also be explained by age differences, urban-rural differences, differences in roadway types, vehicle age or safety features, availability of emergency medical services, or other factors.
Few studies have examined race or ethnicity among drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes. One reason is that no single database contains all the information that is needed. State vital statistics registries have accurate information about race and ethnicity but have no information about crash variables or driver behaviors. In contrast, the most widely used registry of traffic crash fatalities, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), contains detailed information about the drivers and vehicles involved in fatal crashes but no information about ethnicity or race.
This study links data from death certificates and FARS to examine the distribution of driver-, crash- and vehicle-related variables among fatally injured Hispanic and non-Hispanic motorists in Colorado. The study focuses on the Hispanic population because it is the most rapidly growing minority population in the United States.14 This study had 2 specific objectives: (1) to compare the death rates from traffic crashes in the Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations in Colorado, and (2) to compare Hispanic and non-Hispanic drivers killed in traffic crashes with respect to safety belt use, alcohol involvement, speeding, valid licensure, vehicle age, and urban or rural location.
Section snippets
Materials and methods
Colorado is, geographically, a rural state with a population of approximately 3.9 million persons in 1997. Non-Hispanic whites comprise 80% of the population. The population is concentrated in the 6-county “Denver metropolitan” area (2.2 million residents) and the 6-county “other metropolitan” area (1.0 million residents). Sixteen percent of the population lives in Colorado’s 51 rural counties, defined as those outside a Metropolitan Statistical Area. There are more than 500,000 Hispanic
Results
During the study period (1991-1995), the age-adjusted average annual death rate from motor vehicle–related injuries was 13.0 deaths per 100,000 population. Table 1 shows the age-adjusted rates for all traffic deaths and for drivers only, for Hispanics and non-Hispanic white motorists.Variable Fatality Rate (per 100,000 population) Hispanic Non-Hispanic White RR (95% CI) All motor vehicle fatalities 21.0 12.0 1.75
Discussion
This study provides new information about the risk of death in motor vehicle crashes in Hispanic Americans, the fastest-growing minority group in the United States. The population-based fatality rates were 75% higher among Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic whites. For drivers killed in traffic crashes, the rate was 62% higher in the Hispanic population. Similar results were reported by Sewell et al21 and by Peek et al,22 who found that motor vehicle occupant and pedestrian death rates were
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2020, Preventive MedicineCitation Excerpt :Similar results were found in the analysis stratified by urbanity. A study conducted in Colorado found that Hispanics had higher crash-related fatality rates compared with non-Hispanic White motorists (Harper et al., 2000). Past research has found that compared to White adults, odds of weekly cannabis use, monthly cannabis use, and cannabis dependence are higher among Black, Native American, and mixed-race adults (Wu et al., 2016).
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At the time this work was performed, Ms. Harper was a candidate for the Master of Science in Public Health degree at the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO.
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Reprints not available from the authors. Address for correspondence: Steven R. Lowenstein, MD, MPH, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 4200 E. Ninth Avenue (Box B-215), Denver, CO 80262; 303-372-5631, fax 303-372-5528; E-mail [email protected].