Males 70% more likely than females to be involved in serious car crashes

Males were 70 percent more likely than females to be involved in serious car accidents, according to a University of Queensland study.

The study, funded by a one-year Queensland Motor Accident Insurance Commission and Royal College of Physicians fellowship, is believed to be the first in Australia to quantify the relationship between known risk-taking behaviour such as speeding and fatigue and the chances of being involved in a serious traffic accident.

Associate Professor Rod McClure analysed 200 car and motorcycle accident cases involving hospitalisation for more than 24 hours at the Princess Alexandra and Royal Brisbane Hospital trauma units throughout 1997.

Victims were interviewed about circumstances leading to the crashes and these results compared with interviews with a control sample of 1400 registered car and motorcycle drivers in the greater Brisbane area.

The study, recently presented at the Fourth World Conference for Injury Prevention and Control in Amsterdam, provides a good evidence base for new or refocused motor vehicle accident prevention programs.

Dr McClure works for both the University's Social and Preventive Medicine Department and the Centre for National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine (CONROD).

Established early last year, CONROD is a joint initiative of the University, the Motor Accident Insurance Commission and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research.

The study found:

o male drivers in general had a 70 percent greater chance than females of being involved in serious car crashes - that is, requiring hospitalisation for more than 24 hours;

o car drivers not wearing seatbelts were three times more likely than those wearing seatbelts to be hospitalised following a car crash;

o speeding car drivers were twice as likely and speeding motorcyclists 2.5 times as likely as those not speeding to be hospitalised following a car crash; and

o fatigue made both car and motorcycle drivers three times more likely than drivers not fatigued to be hospitalised due to car crashes.

Dr McClure said the study found wearing protective gear was a sound way for a motorcyclist to reduce the chance of hospitalisation following an accident.

The study found motorcyclists not wearing protective trousers were twice as likely to be hospitalised following traffic accidents when compared with motorcyclists who did wear protective trousers. Motorcyclists not wearing protective gloves were three times as likely to be hospitalised following traffic accidents when compared with motorbike riders who did wear appropriate gloves.

In addition, Dr McClure said the study found a high correlation between safe and non-risky road behaviour on the part of motorcyclists and the tendency to wear appropriately protective gloves and trousers when driving.

For more information, contact Dr McClure (telephone 07 3240 5818).