Research Papers

Understanding how many children are injured in crashes, as well as the types of injuries they experience, is important to advance child passenger safety. Linking New Jersey crash reports and hospital data revealed that crash reports often report inaccurate injury locations and tend to overstate the severity of injuries experienced. Very few children experienced any injury in a crash, and injuries were rare among children in harnessed child restraint systems. 

Z-drugs like zolpidem are taken at night to facilitate sleep but may cause sedation that affects driving the following morning. NJ-SHO researchers and Brown University collaborators used linked Medicare claims data and crash and licensing records to see if older drivers taking Z-drugs for 12 weeks were more likely to crash than those not taking Z-drugs. They did not find elevated risk of overall crashes, at-fault crashes, or crashes that occurred in the morning associated with a Z-drug prescription. 

Young adults with mood disorders were 30% less likely to acquire a driver’s license compared to their peers without mood disorders. Young adults with mood disorders had slightly higher overall crash rates at 12- and 48-months post-licensure and had double the rate of license suspensions compared to their peers without mood disorders. Research suggests the need to develop evidence-based training and education for adolescents with mood disorders who want to drive. 

Some medications, such as antihistamines and antidepressants, can impact a person’s driving and are considered potentially driver-impairing (PDI). Over half of older Medicare beneficiaries involved in crashes in New Jersey were exposed to two or more potentially driver-impairing (PDI) medications before and after a crash. Some drivers started taking more PDI medications after a crash, suggesting the need for more attention to the effects on driving for older people involved in crashes.

Using population-based crash and hospital discharge data, the incidence of motor vehicle crashes over a 28-day period did not change on average after surgery, but specific populations are at risk. 

Examining crash reports with linked community-level indicators may optimize efforts aimed at improving traffic safety behaviors, like seat belt use. This study found that not wearing a seat belt is 121% more prevalent in communities with the largest percentage of the population living with three or more indicators of vulnerability than those in the least vulnerable communities.

In 30 states, licensing agencies can restrict the distance from home that "medically-at-risk" drivers are permitted to drive. This study found that a majority of crashes occur within a few miles from home with little variation among driver demographics or medical conditions. Therefore, distance restrictions may not reduce crash rates among older adults. Future research is needed to understand the extent to which older adults drive and to identify other factors that influence crash risk.

Information from New Jersey police-reported crashes showed that children were typically restrained during crashes, but not always correctly, especially among younger children. Many drivers in this study did not follow best practice recommendations for child restraint use, as well as NJ child passenger safety laws.

By successfully linking hospital discharge data with motor vehicle crash reports to account for crash injuries more accurately, CIRP researchers make clear the continued need for data integration efforts to classify the true burden of crash-related injuries. Armed with this information, prevention efforts can be tailored to populations most at risk for crash-related injuries.

Adolescents with ADHD have 30 to 40% higher crash rates than their peers without ADHD. They are also 9% more likely to be at fault for their crashes and 15% more likely to be inattentive. Research using naturalistic data is needed to identify driving performance differences that might not be detected in police-reported data. This information will help optimize driver training for teens with ADHD.