http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol361/iss9376/full/llan.361.9376.ori ginal_research.26229.1
The Lancet, Volume 361, Number 9376 28 June 2003 Traffic-law enforcement and risk of death from motor-vehicle crashes: case-crossover study Donald A Redelmeier, Robert J Tibshirani, Leonard Evans Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research Program, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, and Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada (Prof D A Redelmeier MD); Departments of Statistics and of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA (Prof R J Tibshirani PhD); and Science Serving Society, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA (L Evans DPhil) Correspondence to: Prof Donald A Redelmeier, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, G-151, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5 (e-mail:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) Summary Introduction Methods Results Discussion References Summary Background Driving offences and traffic deaths are common in countries with high rates of motor-vehicle use. We tested whether traffic convictions, because of their direct effect on the recipient, might be associated with a reduced risk of fatal motor-vehicle crashes. Methods We identified licensed drivers in Ontario, Canada, who had been involved in fatal crashes in the past 11 years. We used the case-crossover design to analyse the protective effect of recent convictions on individual drivers. Findings 8975 licensed drivers had fatal crashes during the study period. 21 501 driving convictions were recorded for all drivers from the date of obtaining a full licence to the date of fatal crash, equivalent to about one conviction per driver every 5 years. The risk of a fatal crash in the month after a conviction was about 35% lower than in a comparable month with no conviction for the same driver (95% CI 20-45, p=0á0002). The benefit lessened substantially by 2 months and was not significant by 3-4 months. The benefit was not altered by age, previous convictions, and other personal characteristics; was greater for speeding violations with penalty points than speeding violations without points; was no different for crashes of differing severity; and was not seen in drivers whose licences were suspended. Interpretation Traffic-law enforcement effectively reduces the frequency of fatal motor-vehicle crashes in countries with high rates of motor-vehicle use. Inconsistent enforcement, therefore, may contribute to thousands of deaths each year worldwide. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get A Free Psychic Reading! Your Online Answer To Life's Important Questions. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Lj3uPC/Me7FAA/ySSFAA/9bTolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuels at Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel at WebConX http://webconx.green-trust.org/2000/biofuel/biofuel.htm List messages are archived at the Info-Archive at NNYTech: http://archive.nnytech.net/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/