PSYCHIATRIC AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF AUTOMOBILE FATALITIES

A STUDY OF COMPONENTS HYPOTHESIZED TO BE MAJOR FACTORS IN FATAL AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS IS REPORTED. THE ELEMENTS WERE: PERSONALITY PATTERN, STRESSFUL EVENTS, ALCOHOL, PRECRASH STATE AND NONBEHAVIORAL FACTORS. TWENTY-FIVE MALE FATALITIES WERE MATCHED WITH 25 CONTROLS. FIVE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE USED FOR STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS WITH BOTH THE FAMILIES AND CLOSE RELATIVES OF THE DRIVER FATALITIES AND THE CONTROL GROUP. THE QUESTIONNAIRES DEALT DIRECTLY WITH SOCIAL HISTORY, DRIVING HISTORY, ALCOHOL INVOLVEMENT, PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION AND INTERVIEWEE RESPONDENT EVALUATION. THE INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED BY PSYCHIATRISTS. A COMPLETE AUTOPSY WAS PERFORMAED ON THE VICTIM AND BLOOD-ALCOHOL LEVEL WAS DETERMINED. WITH REGARD TO PERSONALITY PATTERNS, 80% OF THE FATALITY GROUP WERE CLEARLY PSYCHIATRICALLY DISTURBED. THESE VICTIMS SHOWED MARKED LIFELONG, MALADAPTIVE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR IN MOST AREAS OF THEIR LIVES - MARITAL, VOCATIONAL, SOCIAL. THE VICTIMS-TO-BE SEEMED TO BE SHOULDERING A MUCH GREATER BURDEN OF STRESSES THAN WERE THE CONTROLS; 80% HAD SERIOUS PROBLEMS AT THE TIME OF THEIR COLLISION, WHILE ONLY 22% OF THE CONTROLS WERE SIMILARLY AFFLICTED. OVER HALF (56%) OF THE FATALITIES HAD HAD A SERIOUS INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT IN THE 24 HOURS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE COLLISION; OFTEN WITHIN HOURS OF THEIR DEATH. THESE WERE TYPICALLY MARKED BY A VIOLENT ALTERCATION, FOLLOWED BY AN IMMEDIATE "ESCAPE" INTO A CAR, WITH THE FATALITY-TO-BE ROARING OFF IN AN OBVIOUS FIT OF RAGE OR REJECTION. SEVENTY-TWO PERCENT OF THE DEAD DRIVERS WERE INTOXICATED, ALL WITH BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS OVER 150 MG. PERCENT. SEVENTY-TWO PERCENT OF THE FATALITIES WHO WERE INTOXICATED WERE ALCOHOLICS. ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THE INTOXICATED FATALITIES HAD A DRINKING PROBLEM WHICH OFFERED A REASONABLY GOOD PROSPECT FOR REHABILITATION AND TREATMENT EFFORTS. IN ONLY 3 OF THE 25 FATAL CRASHES WERE NONBEHAVIORAL ELEMENTS FOUND TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE. EVEN IN THESE CASES, THEY WERE FELT TO BE OF ONLY MILD, SECONDARY SIGNIFICANCE. IT IS MAINTAINED THAT THE DRIVERS WHO ARE MOST PRONE TO BE INVOLVED IN SERIOUS TRAFFIC CRASHES CAN OFTEN BE IDENTIFIED BEFORE THE FATAL CRASH BY THE USE OF DRIVING RECORDS OR BY A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL (POSSIBLY A POLICE OFFICER) CONDUCTING AN INTERVIEW AT LICENSE RENEWAL TIME. MEDICAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF THE DRINKING-DRIVER PHENOMENON ARE DISCUSSED. THE FORMS USED FOR THE INTERVIEWS ARE INCLUDED. /SRIS/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 145 Pp, FigS, TABS, REFS
• Corporate Authors:

  Baylor College of Medicine

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Finch, J R
  • Smith, J P
• Publication Date: 1970

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcoholism; Behavior; Blood alcohol levels; Crash analysis; Drivers; Drunk driving; Fatalities; Human characteristics; Legal factors; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver characteristics
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver psychology
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00221334
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Jul 12 1971 12:00AM