LOST WORKING DAYS, PRODUCTIVITY, AND RESTRAINT USE AMONG OCCUPANTS OF MOTOR VEHICLES THAT CRASHED IN THE UNITED STATES

An important measure of the functional outcome of injuries is the amount of time lost from work. This study seeks to determine the number of work days lost as a result of motor vehicle crashes and whether people who were properly restrained in vehicles returned to work earlier than those who were unrestrained. Using data from the 1993-2001 Crashworthiness Data System of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a retrospective, population-based cohort study of occupants in motor vehicles involved in crashes was conducted. The sample population of people aged 18-65 years included two groups: occupants who survived and were working before the crash and occupants who were injured fatally and were estimated to have been working before the crash. Multivariate linear regression was used to analyze the impact of restraint use and injury type on return to work. Results showed that 30.1% of occupants of vehicles that crashed missed one or more days of work. A crash resulted in a mean 28 days lost from work, including losses associated with fatalities. The 2.1 million working occupants of vehicles that crashed in 2001 lost a total of 60 million days of work, resulting in annual productivity losses of over $7.5 billion. Unrestrained vehicle occupants accounted for $5.6 billion in lost productivity. These findings indicate that the considerable economic impact of motor vehicle crashes could be reduced by universal use of seat belts.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13538047
• Corporate Authors:

  BMJ Publishing Group

  BMJ House, Tavistock Square
  London WC1H 9JR,   United Kingdom 
• Authors:
  • Ebel, B E
  • Mack, C
  • Diehr, P
  • Rivara, F P
• Publication Date: 2004-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 314-319
• Serial:
  • Injury Prevention
  • Volume: 10
  • Issue Number: 5
  • Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
  • ISSN: 1353-8047
  • EISSN: 1475-5785
  • Serial URL: http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash injuries; Economic impacts; Fatalities; Injury types; Labor productivity; Linear regression analysis; Multivariate analysis; Seat belts; Traffic crash victims
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Economics; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00981977
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 6 2004 12:00AM