DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OLDER AND YOUNGER DRIVERS - CHARACTERISTICS OF FATAL CAB CRASHES AND DRIVER INJURIES

Car drivers (greater than or equal to 18 years; n = 514) in Northern S weden who were fatally injured over a 13-year-period were investigated using autopsy and police reports. Fatalities per unit distance and pe r licenced driver were highest for the greater than or equal to 70-yea r-old and < 25-year-old drivers; these two age groups had similar fata lity frequencies. The greater than or equal to 60-year-old drivers wer e more often at fault than the < 60-year-old ones. Fatal head injuries decreased whilst chest injuries increased with age. The greater than or equal to 60-year-old drivers were more likely to die as a consequen ce of less severe injuries than the < 60-year-old ones. The belted you nger drivers had fewer fatal chest injuries and more head injuries tha n the non-belted ones. In older drivers, fatal head injuries were more common in side impacts than in frontal impacts. Older drivers got mor e post-traumatic complications than the younger ones. Copyright (C) 19 96 Elsevier Science Ltd.