DISCREPANCIES IN VEHICULAR CRASH INJURY REPORTING: NORTHEASTERN OHIO TRAUMA STUDY IV

People injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes were identified from a population-representative incidence sample of hospital emergency department visits. Matched police reports of crashes were sought in official state records of motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of the emergency department cases, 55 percent had matched police reports. The frequency of matched reports was highest for drivers (74 percent), people transported to the hospital by emergency vehicle (69 percent), and those requiring hospital admission (74 percent). The frequency was lowest for people younger than 16 years (28 percent), people injured as occupants of vehicles other than passenger cars (24 percent), medicaid recipients (33 percent), and nonresidents of the study region (40 percent). Motor vehicle traffic injuries are undercounted in police-reported statistics. For many groups, police reporting is less than 50 percent of the cases identified through emergency departments. The likelihood that a case of motor vehicle traffic injury will have a matched police report depends on demographic, social, and crash factors as well as on injury severity.

• Corporate Authors:

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  Biomedical and Environmental Assessment Division
  Upton, NY  United States  11973

  Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

  1005 North Glebe Road
  Arlington, VA  United States  22201
• Authors:
  • BARANCIK, J I
  • Fife, D
• Publication Date: 1985

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 15 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash reports; Emergency vehicles; Hospitals; Injuries; Police; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Motor vehicle accidents
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I81: Accident Statistics; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00395306
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-037 888
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jun 30 1985 12:00AM