NJ-SHO researchers find discrepancies that might paint an incomplete picture of how crashes impact the safety of child passengers. 

NJ-SHO researchers find discrepancies that might paint an incomplete picture of how crashes impact the safety of child passengers. 

Dr. Emma Sartin discusses the implications of an NJ-SHO study which found discrepancies between child passenger injuries in crash reports and in hospital records. 

Although older adults may use potentially driver-impairing (PDI) medications that can produce psychomotor impairment, little is known about changes to PDI medication use among older adults from the time before to the time after a motor vehicle crash (MVC). Study findings  suggest that most older drivers involved in MVCs did not use fewer PDI medications after crashes than before. Qualitative research of perceived risks versus benefits of PDI medications is necessary to understand why MVCs do not appear to motivate clinicians to deprescribe PDI medications. 

Learn about the NJ-SHO Center for Integrated Data that is conducting research on traffic safety and transportation equity with its unique data warehouse and a public health lens. 

This study sought to provide a deeper understanding of inequalities in traffic safety. Among New Jersey drivers involved in crashes, people who live in lower opportunity neighborhoods and people of minoritized race and ethnicity groups were more likely to be involved in injury crashes and all crashes. These findings emphasize the need to consider a person’s lived experience when assessing their crash risk and a path to reducing disparities in traffic safety. 

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.

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.