SUDDEN DEATH AT THE WHEEL OF AN AUTOMOBILE

SUDDEN HEART FAILURE WHILE OR IMMEDIATELY BEFORE OR AFTER DRIVING OCCURRED IN LESS THAN 0.02 PER CENT OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY DRIVING POPULATION DURING 1964. ABOUT 37 PER CENT OF THE STUDIED CASES RESULTED IN ACCIDENTS. MOST WERE RELATIVELY HARMLESS, INVOLVING SUCH INCIDENTS AS A CAR ROLLING OUT SLOWLY UNTIL STRIKING AGAINST AN OBJECT, MORE FREQUENTLY TO THE LEFT THAN TO THE RIGHT. USUALLY THERE WAS NO SKIDDING, VEERING OR ACCELERATION. SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OCCURRED IN ONLY SIX OF 24 ACCIDENTS. NO PERSON OTHER THAN THE STRIKEN DRIVER WAS INJURED. SUDDEN HEART FAILURE OCCURRED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY IN MALES, WITH THE HIGHEST INCIDENCE IN THOSE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 45 AND 70 YEARS. CORONARY SCLEROTIC HEART DISEASE WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR. /SRIS/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 39, No 6, 8 PP, 1 FIG, 9 REF
• Corporate Authors:

  Forensic Medicine

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Hartmann, H
• Publication Date: 1966-6

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Crash causes; Drivers; Failure; Gender; Heart; Traffic crashes
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00220843
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 26 1970 12:00AM