Application of the induced exposure method to compare risks of traffic crashes among different types of drivers under different environmental conditions

The authors used the induced exposure method to compare risks of traffic cr ashes among different types of Spanish drivers under different environmenta l conditions. The authors analyzed traffic crashes recorded by the Spanish Direccion General de Trafico for the years 1991 and 1992 to compare proport ions of drivers in different age/sex categories who were involved in single -vehicle and multivehicle crashes under different psychological and physica l conditions. Crash risk was 1.42- to 2.35-fold greater in men than in wome n, depending on driver category and environmental factors. Risk was also si gnificantly higher in the 18- to 24-year-old age group (1.75- to 2.87-fold greater than in drivers aged 25-49 years) and under abnormal psychological- physical conditions (1.69- to 4.10-fold greater among drivers under the inf luence of alcohol). Twilight and night driving, driving in urban areas, and driving on weekends and legal holidays were also associated, though nonsig nificantly, with a slightly higher traffic crash risk. These findings are c onsistent with earlier reports, and they support the usefulness of the indu ced exposure method as an easy and economical tool with which to analyze da ta contained in traffic crash records.