DRIVER SUICIDES

Background To study driver suicides, all motor vehicle driver fataliti es in Finland from 1987 to 1991 were analysed. Method Cases were colle cted from all driver fatalities (n=1419), as those that accident inves tigation teams considered possible suicides (n=99). Drivers committing suicide classified according to ICD-9 by two forensic pathologists we re selected as cases (n=84). Drivers of unintentional motor vehicle fa talities served as the control group. Results While 5.9% of all driver fatalities were classified as suicides, the figure given in the offic ial statistics was 2.6%. Driver suicide's accounted for 1.2% of all su icides. Fifty per cent of driver suicides were committed by men aged b etween 15 and 34 years. The victims had often suffered from life-event stress, mental disorders and had alcohol misuse problems. The cases w ere usually head-on collisions between two vehicles with a large weigh t disparity. Conclusions Misclassification of driver suicides does not significantly influence the total suicide rate. However, people who c ommit suicide by this method could often be recognised, and prevention of these events would improve traffic safety.