Deliberate fatal crashes involving a motor vehicle and a cyclist or pedestrian

Abstract

IntroductionDeliberate crashes are caused by road users engaging in insurance fraud, attempting suicide, or “punishing” other road users. In this study, we investigated deliberate crashes that resulted in the deaths of “vulnerable” road users (cyclists and pedestrians). MethodsWe used in-depth road crash investigation data from the Finnish Crash Data Institute and court decisions for a selected number of cases in which the deceased had not been the main originator of the crash. ResultsIn 1997–2018, 96 pedestrians and five cyclists died in 101 deliberately caused crashes involving a motor vehicle. The majority of these crashes were caused by suicides (94/96 pedestrian and 3/5 cyclist crashes). Most of suicide crashes (79%) involved a heavy vehicle. Eighty percent of the victims were male. Previous suicidal thoughts and attempts, and a history of mental disorders/illness was prevalent around two thirds of the originators of the crashes. Four cases were caused by motor vehicle drivers. According to court rulings, the drivers in two of these cases were convicted of manslaughter. ConclusionsWe provide some possible reasons for this relatively high number of road suicides in Finland and discuss the legal implications of deliberately hitting pedestrians or cyclists with a motor vehicle.