Nighttime Fatal Crashes Research Articles

Misperception and visual illusion as contributing factors in nighttime crashes

ABSTRACTForensic HFE attempts to understand and explain factors that may have contributed to specific human-system failures or injury events. It involves, by definition, after-the-fact review of available evidence as well as activity analysis of all involved parties and possibly site inspection, when warranted. An often-overlooked explanation for road crashes is visual misperception and illusions, which come in a variety of forms. The possible involvement of visual misperception in crash causation can be evaluated during a comprehensive site inspection under conditions that correspond as much as reasonably possible to the actual conditions that existed at the time of the crash. Two case studies are described that illustrate the value of site inspection in uncovering the possible contribution of visual misperception in these nighttime fatal crashes; case 1 involving visual illusion, and case 2 involving signal ambiguity. These cases demonstrate that site visits at night can be helpful in uncovering important visual phenomena that might not otherwise be apparent.

A national evaluation of the nighttime and passenger restriction components of graduated driver licensing

Introduction The high crash rate of youthful novice drivers has been recognized for half a century. Over the last decade, graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems, which extend the period of supervised driving and limit the novice's exposure to higher-risk conditions (such as nighttime driving), have effectively reduced crash involvements of novice drivers. Method This study used data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the implementation dates of GDL laws in a state-by-year panel study to evaluate the effectiveness of two key elements of GDL laws: nighttime restrictions and passenger limitations. Results Nighttime restrictions were found to reduce 16- and 17-year-old driver involvements in nighttime fatal crashes by an estimated 10% and 16- and 17-year-old drinking drivers in nighttime fatal crashes by 13%. Passenger restrictions were found to reduce 16- and 17-year-old driver involvements in fatal crashes with teen passengers by an estimated 9%. Conclusions These results confirm the effectiveness of these provisions in GDL systems. Impact on Public Health. States without the nighttime or passenger restrictions in their GDL law should strongly consider adopting them. Impact on Industry The results of this study indicate that nighttime restrictions and passenger limitations are very important components of any GDL law.

Validity of surrogate measures of alcohol involvement when applied to nonfatal crashes

Since the 1970s, nighttime fatal crashes have been used as a surrogate measure for alcohol-related fatalities for crashes for which more direct measures were absent. The validity of this approach was confirmed in 1985 but has not been re-evaluated since. Although this measure has also been applied to identify alcohol involvement in nonfatal crashes, its validity when applied to nonfatal cases has never been determined. The objective of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness of using nighttime crashes as surrogate measures for alcohol impairment when applied to fatal and nonfatal injury and property damage only (PDO) crashes. To do so, we used data from a crash–control design study collected at the roadside in two U.S. states between 1997 and 1999, as well as from the 1997–1999 and 2004–2006 Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The outcome of this study confirms the validity of using nighttime crashes as a surrogate measure for alcohol-related fatalities and supports the use of after-midnight crashes for measuring alcohol involvement in nonfatal and PDO crashes when the number of late-night crashes permits.

Alcohol and other drug use and the transition from riding to driving

Poulin, Boudreau and Ashbridge [Addiction 2007;102(1):51-61.] provide an intriguing analysis of the problem of adolescents riding with drunk drivers. Their analysis, based on a survey of 13 000 students in grades 7-12 in the four Maritime Provinces of Canada, includes individual, school and province variables. Highlighted are the factors not within the student's direct control that determine the extent of riding with a drunk driver (RDD). They found that rural residence, single parent or no parents, socio-economic status (SES), prevalence of driving under the influence (DUI), lower licensure rate and lower educational attainment in the community were associated with RDD. Of particular interest was their finding that, once the impact of those factors was controlled, being licensed reduced the probability of RDD. Presumably, this is because youths with licenses have less need to ride with others and thus are less likely to ride with a drunk driver. The Poulin et al. results highlight the need to pay more attention to the risk that unlicensed youths will become riders in alcohol-related crashes. Sixteen-year-old drivers have crash rates that are three times greater than 17-year-olds and five times greater than 18-year-olds. The current official response to this problem is GDL, which extends the period of adult-supervised driving and provides for an intermediate period when the novice driver may not carry teenage passengers or drive late at night. This should reduce the opportunity for teenage passengers to be injured in crashes involving drinking novice drivers. There is substantial evidence that GDL programs are effective in reducing the crashes of novice drivers. However, there have been no studies of the impact of GDL on teenage passengers. Although imposing night-time restrictions on teenage driversand teenage passengers appears to effectively reduce novice-driver injuries, there is evidence that GDL laws achieve their primary impact through a delay in the licensing of 16- and 17-year-olds. If GDL laws are achieving their impact primarily by limiting the number of licensed 16- and 17-year-olds, then more teenagers in that age group will need rides. It is therefore important to study the limits on mobility (a potential economic burden on some families) and safety (if lack of a license increases RDD) if a teenager is unlicensed. The Poulin et al. paper challenges us to increase our knowledge about RDD as a signal for alcohol problems. It suggests a need to examine more closely the trade-off between discouraging early licensing versus reducing RDD by making licensing more available. It also suggests more research on programs that discourage RDD that go beyond current educational efforts. Language: en

The relationship of different socioeconomic variables and alcohol consumption with nighttime fatal traffic crashes in Spain: 1978-1993.

This paper identifies the variables associated with alcohol-related fatal traffic crashes (AFTC) in Spain. In addition, and for the first time in this country, these variables are used to describe the trend in AFTC, and to study the relationship between AFTC and alcohol consumption over the period 1976-1993. To this end, official data were obtained from the Traffic Department (Dirección General de Tráfico), the National Statistics Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estadística), and from international publications on trends in alcohol consumption. Nighttime fatal crashes (NFC) and male-driver single-vehicle nighttime fatal crashes (MNFC) were strongly associated with AFTC rates in Spain. A further finding was the decrease in NFC and MNFC rates during the period 1978-1993, though this decrease proved of a lower magnitude than that observed for daytime crashes. No relationship was observed between alcohol consumption at the population level and NFC or MNFC rates. The fatal crash rate, particularly the daytime rate, showed a rise with wealth level, as measured by gross domestic product and national private consumption, and an inverse relationship with the unemployment rate. The relationship between the fatal crash rate and economic variables was due, in most part, to changes in vehicle-km travelled.

Young driver involvement in fatal motor vehicle crashes and trends in risk behaviors, United States, 1988–95

Objective—To review trends and risk factors in fatal motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) for drivers aged 15–20 years. Methods—Fatality Analysis Reporting System data from 1988 to 1995 were used. Drivers were...

The relationship of the retail availability of alcohol and alcohol sales to alcohol-related traffic crashes

The research literature on the relationship of alcohol consumption to motor vehicle crash risk clearly implicates the importance of minimizing the use of alcohol in conjunction with the operation of motor vehicles. However, there has been relatively little documentation of the direct impact of changes in beverage-specific alcohol sales on the most common surrogate for alcohol-involved traffic crashes, single-vehicle nightime fatalities. Similarly, there have been few studies of the relationship between the physical availability of alcohol and fatal crash rates which have concurrently controlled for differences in alcohol sales. Indeed, the possibility that reduced availability might lead to increases rather than decreases in fatal crashes (due to increased driving after drinking) has not been adequately tested. This paper presents a series of analyses of time-series cross-sectional data from 38 states over 12 years to evaluate the impact of changes in alcohol sales and the physical availability of alcohol upon single-vehicle nighttime fatal crashes. The results of the study showed, first, that independent of a number of economic and demographic covariates, rates of single-vehicle nighttime fatal crashes were most strongly related to sales of beer and less so to sales of spirits and wine. Second, net of beverage-specific alcohol sales, the physical availability of alcohol was not related to measurable changes in fatal crash rates. Thus, reductions in availability intended to reduce alcohol sales and problems would not appear to increase traffic-related crashes through increased driving exposure.

Motor Vehicle Fatalities and the Minimum Drinking Age

To the Editor.— Decker et al 1 raise a good question: Do young people respond better to general or to youth-targeted measures aimed at reducing fatal accidents? However, the finding by Decker et al that nighttime (alcoholprobable) fatalities among persons aged 19 through 20 years did not decrease after Tennessee enacted stricter anti— driving under the influence of alcohol laws in 1982, but did fall after the drinking age was raised from 19 to 21 years in 1984, is not an adequate answer. The largest decrease in the rate of nighttime fatal crashes (NFCs) among persons aged 19 through 20 years in Tennessee occurred in 1985, 2 when more than half this age group could still drink legally under the grandfather clause (under which the 21 drinking age was phased in over 2 years). Persons aged 20 years had a particularly large decrease in the rate of NFCs in 1985,

Effects of Maine's 1981 and Massachusetts' 1982 driving-under-the-influence legislation

In 1981, Maine passed a drunk driving law with mandatory penalties and a new civil charge to increase the conviction rate. One year later, Massachusetts increased drunk driving penalties, particularly for repeat offenders and intoxicated drivers involved in fatal crashes. In Maine, single-vehicle nighttime fatal crashes declined 22 per cent the year before passage of the law, and 33 per cent the year after. Maine's rates returned to pre-law levels by the third post-law year. Prior to Massachusetts' new law, single-vehicle nighttime and overall fatal crashes there also declined 20% and 22%, whereas after this law fatal crash rates did not decline further compared with the pre-law year or other New England states. Pre- and post-law surveys indicate that both laws were followed by some increases in public perceptions that drunk drivers stopped by police would be arrested, convicted, and receive automatic penalties. But, few believed it was very likely that drunk drivers would be stopped. For only two of three years studied after Maine's law did more people there report decisions not to drive because they had drunk too much. In Massachusetts, reported driving after heavy drinking declined as much the year before as the three years after its law.

Effects of Maine's 1981 and Massachusetts' 1982 driving-under-the-influence legislation.

In 1981, Maine passed a drunk driving law with mandatory penalties and a new civil charge to increase the conviction rate. One year later, Massachusetts increased drunk driving penalties, particularly for repeat offenders and intoxicated drivers involved in fatal crashes. In Maine, single-vehicle nighttime fatal crashes declined 22 per cent the year before passage of the law, and 33 per cent the year after. Maine's rates returned to pre-law levels by the third post-law year. Prior to Massachusetts' new law, single-vehicle nighttime and overall fatal crashes there also declined 20% and 22%, whereas after this law fatal crash rates did not decline further compared with the pre-law year or other New England states. Pre- and post-law surveys indicate that both laws were followed by some increases in public perceptions that drunk drivers stopped by police would be arrested, convicted, and receive automatic penalties. But, few believed it was very likely that drunk drivers would be stopped. For only two of three years studied after Maine's law did more people there report decisions not to drive because they had drunk too much. In Massachusetts, reported driving after heavy drinking declined as much the year before as the three years after its law.

Surrogate measures of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes: Are conventional indicators adequate?

The problem of alcohol-related highway fatalities has led a majority of states to enact new legislative countermeasures. Because few states consistently collect information on alcohol involvement in fatal crashes, the evaluation of the effectiveness of these countermeasures has relied on surrogate measures of alcohol involvement. Using data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS), this study addresses the following questions: (a) Which of the several surrogate measures used are most likely to reflect alcohol involvement in fatal crashes? and (b) Do the trends in these surrogate measures provide an accurate appraisal of the true trends in alcohol-involved fatal crashes? The authors conclude that nighttime fatal crashes are the best surrogate measure of alcohol-involved crashes, but that surrogate measures may not accurately mirror trends in alcohol-involved fatal crashes over time, particularly in small states or over short durations. All drivers in fatal crashes should be given blood alcohol level (BAL) tests to most accurately assess the effects of drunk driving countermeasures.

Legislation raising the legal drinking age in Massachusetts from 18 to 20: effect on 16 and 17 year-olds.

The 1979 Massachusetts law raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 20 is examined--the effects on the drinking, drinking and driving, and nonfatal and fatal crash involvement of 16-17 yr-olds, teenagers immediately younger than those targeted by the law. Data from Massachusetts are compared with those from New York State, where the drinking age remained at 18. A total of 3 yr of survey data from the two states and 6 yr of data from the Department of Transportation's Fatal Accident Reporting System provide for pre- and postlaw comparisons. The findings suggest that raising the drinking age had minimal effects on the drinking behavior of Massachusetts teenagers. Although there was a significant reduction in nonfatal crashes in Massachusetts compared with New York, no decline in single-vehicle nighttime fatal crashes or in overall fatal crashes was observed. It is suggested that changes in the drinking age may offer some reduction in teenage driving after drinking and traffic crash involvement, but that teenage drinking and driving after drinking remain serious problems even in states that raise their drinking ages.

The Effect of Raising the Legal Minimum Drinking Age on Involvement in Fatal Crashes

The research method, statistical analysis and results are reported of a study of nine states which raised their legal minimum drinking ages between September 1, 1976 and January 1, 1980. Each of the nine states was paired with a comparison state in which the legal minimum drinking age remained unchanged during the study period. Data on driver involvement in fatal crashes from January 1975 through September 1980 were obtained from the Fatal Accident Reporting System. Only drivers of motor vehicles--automobiles, light trucks, vans, on-off road vehicles--were included. The results of this study indicate that when states raise the drinking age, there is a corresponding decrease in fatal crashes among law-affected drivers. There is also some evidence that raising the drinking age also effects younger drivers, but the reduction in the involvement of such drivers in fatal crashes was not statistically significant. As of January 1981 14 states have raised the legal drinking ages in recent years. It is estimated that these law changes result, each year, in about 380 fewer young drivers involved in nighttime fatal crashes. The societal benefits achieved in states that have raised their drinking ages are substantial.