Fuzzy dice, dream cars, and indecent gestures: correlates of driver behavior?

In 1989 the Los Angeles Times conducted a telephone survey of over 1,800 Southern California motorists. We analyzed the data to determine whether personality and demographic characteristics were related to driver behavior. Fourteen percent of drivers were involved in a motor vehicle accident in the previous year, 8% reported driving when they had too much to drink, 20% ran at least one red light in the previous month, and nearly half said they often drove faster than the speed limit. Motorists under 30 years of age are especially likely both to engage in the three risk-taking behaviors and to be involved in a crash, even holding other factors constant. Drivers over 65 years of age take fewer risks, but have the same likelihood of having an accident per mile driven as middle-aged motorists. Surprisingly, drivers with more than a high school education are more likely to both speed and be involved in a crash. Those with fuzzy dice or bumper stickers are not readily distinguishable from other motorists in terms of accidents or risk-taking behaviors. Individuals driving their dream car are somewhat less likely than others to run red lights and drive after drinking. Motorists who made indecent gestures at other drivers, and particularly those who argue with other motorists tend to be unlawful and dangerous drivers. Youth and hostility toward other motorists are two of the most significant and important correlates of bad driving.

Hit the bottle and run: the role of alcohol in hit-and-run pedestrian fatalities.

Alcohol is associated both with motor vehicle crashes and with crime. We examine the role of alcohol in hit-and-run collisions, based on pedestrian fatalities recorded in the Fatal Accident Reporting System. In 19% of all pedestrian fatalities in 1989 and 1990, the driver left the scene. Time of the accident is available for all pedestrian fatalities. Strong evidence for the influence of alcohol on hit-and-runs is the greater proportion of hit-and-runs at night and during the weekend, two periods when drivers are more likely to be drinking. Half of hit-and-run motorists are eventually identified. Compared to those who remain at the scene, the identified hit-and-run motorists are far more likely to have had a previous arrest for driving while intoxicated. They are also disproportionately young and male, two factors associated with drinking and driving. Only a fraction of drivers are tested for blood alcohol concentration (BAC); those who left the scene are more likely to have a positive BAC. Two theories--the rational decision theory and the personality theory--help explain why drunk drivers are more prone to run after hitting a pedestrian.

The hit-and-run in fatal pedestrian accidents: victims, circumstances and drivers.

Hit-and-run pedestrian fatalities are classified as to victim characteristics, accident circumstances and driver characteristics. Over 18,000 pedestrian fatalities are reported in the Fatal Accident Recording System for 1989-1991. Twenty percent of the drivers involved left the accident scene. Children and senior citizens are the least likely to be left. Drivers more commonly run in urban areas, outside the South, on weekends and at night. Comparing motorists who left the scene but were later identified with the drivers who remained, drivers aged 66 and older are half as likely as younger drivers to leave the accident scene and male drivers are 60% more likely than female drivers to run. Drivers with previous driving while intoxicated arrests are twice as likely to run as those with no such arrests. Forty-nine percent of hit-and-run motorists involved in pedestrian fatalities are ultimately identified by the police. Other factors constant, drivers are more likely to be identified if the victim was female or a child. Drivers are identified 2.5 times as often when the incident occurred in daylight. Drivers appear to run more often when they are at fault and will be severely punished (e.g. when they are intoxicated) and when it is likely that they can escape detection (e.g. at night).

The incidence of stairway injuries in Austria.

Stairs are among the most hazardous features of the everyday environment, yet stairway falls have received little research attention. A stratified random sample of Austrian residents was surveyed in person in 1989. Of over 55,000 respondents, 147 reported a stairway injury in the previous year that limited activity for at least one day. Thirty-seven percent of these injuries resulted in hospitalization. Extrapolating to the entire country of 8 million people, each year some 20,000 Austrians sustain serious stairway injuries resulting in over 7,500 hospitalizations. The incidence of stairway injury increases monotonically with age, and females are more at risk than males. The stereotypical stairway injury victim is an elderly woman, not highly educated, who is unmarried and living alone.

Smoking and suicide among nurses.

Current evidence suggests a strong positive correlation between cigarette consumption and depression; this study examined the relationship between cigarettes and suicide. Over 100,000 predominantly White, middle-aged, female registered nurses were followed via biannual questionnaires from 1976 through 1988. Respondents smoking 1 through 24 cigarettes per day had twice the risk and those smoking 25 or more cigarettes four times the risk of committing suicide, compared with those who had never smoked. Although no information on causation was available, this paper links cigarettes to another major health problem.

Firearm training and storage.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent of firearm training among gun owners, how gun owners currently store their weapons, and the relationship between gun training and gun storage. DESIGN AND SETTING: A national random telephone survey of gun owners conducted from May through June 1994. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 800 adult gun owners residing in the United States. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of gun owners who received firearm training and number who store a firearm loaded and unlocked. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine factors associated with firearm training and gun storage practices. RESULTS: A total of 451 (56%) of gun owners have received firearm training. A total of 170 (21%) of gun owners keep a firearm both loaded and unlocked in the home. Factors associated with an increased likelihood of storing guns loaded and unlocked included owning a gun for protection (odds ratio [OR], 2.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.62 to 3.54), owning a handgun (OR, 3.31; 95% CI, 1.85 to 5.95), and having received firearm training (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.10 to 2.67). Length of firearm training and how recently training was received have little effect on storage practices. CONCLUSION: It has been suggested that many homicide, suicide, and accidental firearm injuries might be prevented if ready access to lethal weapons was reduced, in part through appropriate storage of guns. Although increased training has been advocated as the prime method to improve gun storage practices, our results cast doubt on whether firearm training, at least as currently provided, will substantially reduce the inappropriate storage of firearms.

Impairment, disability, handicap and medical expenses of persons aging with spinal cord injury.

Data from 205 Craig Hospital patients with spinal cord injuries (SCI) were analysed with regard to level of injury, age, length of time since SCI, disability (as measured by the Functional Independence Measure), handicap (as measured by the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique), and average annual costs for services relating to the SCI. Differences in disability, handicap, and costs of care were analysed by chronological age and length of time since injury. Older individuals showed significant increases in disability and handicap. When chronological age was added to the number of years post-injury, significant increases in disability, handicap, and costs of care were noted at all neurological levels.