Female Auto Crash Rates Increase Alarmingly, Airbags Can Be Dangerous For Tall And Small People, Two New Studies Find

Automobile crashes remain the leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults, compounded by the effects of alcohol and failure to use seatbelts. Although males have tended to be associated with alcohol-related crashes, a study to be presented at the 2007 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Annual Meeting shows that young females are beginning to show an alarming increase in fatal automobile crashes related to alcohol use and a failure to use seatbelts.


The study, led by Virginia W. Tsai MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine Medical Center, showed that over a 10 year period (1995-2004) females began to "catch up" to males in risky behaviors and while seatbelt use increased for both males and females, the increase for women was smaller. When combined with other factors such as cell phone use while driving and distractions from other teenagers in the car, the trends for young women are not positive.


According to Dr. Tsai, "Young females should not be overlooked or underestimated in risky driving habits and involvement in alcohol-related crashes. ED staff should consider the teachable moment when they come across the young person involved in a crash no matter if they are male or female. They are both at considerable risk for serious and fatal crashes especially if there is alcohol involved. While they may be in the ED for a minor crash??¦the time and conversation the staff may have with them in the ED may save their lives."


In another study to be presented at the same meeting, Craig Newgard, MD, Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine and Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, analyzed crash data for over 65,000 front-seat occupants and found that airbags, while effective for people of medium stature (5'3" to 5'11") were actually harmful to people smaller than 4'11" and taller than 6'3". Body weight was not a contributing factor to injury rates. Since many "smart" airbags use body weight to determine how the airbag deploys, these data suggest that a new method needs to be found. According to the author, "In this 11-year sample of drivers and front passengers, occupants of small and large stature appeared to be at risk of serious injury from an air bag. These findings suggest that to maximize safety such occupants should not be seated in front of an air bag when traveling in a motor vehicle."


The presentation on female accident rates is entitled "Trends in Young Female Drivers in Alcohol-Related Fatal Crashes over Ten Years, 1995-2004" by Virginia W. Tsai MD. The paper will be presented at the 2007 SAEM Annual Meeting, May 16-19, 2007, Chicago, IL on Thursday, May 17th, in the Poster Session beginning at 1:30 PM in the River Exhibition Hall A & B of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers.


The airbag study is "Stature, Body Weight and Serious Injury from Air Bags Among Adult Drivers and Passengers Involved in Motor Vehicle Crashes" by Craig D. Newgard, MD. The paper will be presented on Friday, May 18th, in the Injury Prevention session beginning at 8:00 AM in room Michigan A. Abstracts of the papers presented are published in Volume 14, Issue 5S, the May 2007 supplement of the official journal of the SAEM, Academic Emergency Medicine.




















About The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine


The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) is a national non-profit organization of over 6,000 academic emergency physicians, emergency medicine residents and medical students. SAEM's mission is to improve patient care by advancing research and education in emergency medicine. SAEM's vision is to promote ready access to quality emergency care for all patients, to advance emergency medicine as an academic and clinical discipline, and to maintain the highest professional standards as clinicians, teachers, and researchers. The SAEM Annual Meeting attracts approximately 2,000 medical students, residents and academic emergency physicians. It provides the largest forum for the presentation of original research in the specialty of Emergency Medicine.


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About Academic Emergency Medicine


The SAEM's official journal, Academic Emergency Medicine, is published by Elsevier. Established in 1994, Academic Emergency Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed journal that publishes material relevant to the practice, education, and investigation of emergency medicine, and reaches a wide audience of emergency care practitioners and educators. Each issue contains a broad range of topics relevant to the improvement of emergency, urgent or critical care of the acutely ill or injured patient. Regular features include original research, preliminary reports, education & practice and annotated literature.


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About Elsevier


Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect , MD Consult, Scopus , bibliographic databases, and online reference works.


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