Silver Lining in High Gas Prices

Posted on | May 13, 2008 | Comments Off on Silver Lining in High Gas Prices

Staying off the road has some protective effect

Once again, across America, we’re experiencing shock at the gas pump. For those of us who are old enough, it recalls the days of Jimmy Carter’s administration, with gas lines, and calls for conservation, and a drop in the speed limit on interstate highways to 55 miles per hour. There was also an interesting side effect at the time – a decline in major auto accidents and patient volume at the nation’s major Trauma Centers. From a public health standpoint, this is a not insignificant contributor to the nation’s disease burden.

To illustrate the point, let’s take a closer look at motor vehicle crashes in the United States. Americans are the most mobile society on the planet, primarily as a result of motor vehicle travel. While such mobility carries with it many economic and social advantages, it also carries a significant and measurable risk. In 2005 alone, there were more than 6 million motor vehicle crashes in the United States resulting in more than 2.5 million injuries and 43,000 deaths. That equates to approximately 15 deaths for every 100,000 citizens in that single year, or one death every 12 minutes in 2005.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans age 3 through 33. Of those who died in 2005, three-quarters were motor vehicle occupants and one-quarter were pedestrians or cyclists.4 To give you some idea of the risk involved, consider this: Your yearly risk of being hit by lightning is 1 in 6.2 million, while your yearly risk of death in an automobile crash is approximately 1 in 8,000.

While fatality rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled declined 15% in the United States between 1995 and 2005, the risk of death and disability on the road stubbornly persists, leaving public health officials to ask, why? Why can’t we do more to address a problem that accounts for a huge percentage of our country’s injury-related death toll?

In the U.S. and around the world, two answers consistently rise to the top, non-use of restraints and alcohol. As Canadian trauma specialists Barry Pless and Brent Hagel put it, “…the use of child safety seats, safety belts, and a reduction of alcohol-impaired driving — behaviors identified as among the most important to reduce motor vehicle occupant injuries and deaths — still falls well short of the mark worldwide.”

How far short? Well, in the U.S. in 2005, a third of all passengers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes were unrestrained. If you wear a seat belt, your chances of being ejected from a car in a crash are less than 1%. If you don’t buckle up, that number goes to 30%. And if you are ejected during a crash, there is a 75% chance that you will die.

As for alcohol: Of the 43,443 motor vehicle deaths in 2005, more than 16,000, or nearly 40%, were alcohol related. More than 1.4 million U.S. drivers in 2004 were arrested for driving while drunk or using narcotics. That’s 1 in every 139 licensed drivers in America. In fatal crashes in 2005, 22% of automobile drivers and 27% of motorcycle drivers were legally drunk.

Through rigorous study, we know the cause and mechanism for vehicle-related injuries – but obviously our education and preventive steps are falling short. By isolating two key factors – restraints and alcohol – and redoubling our efforts at education and public awareness, we can move further along the spectrum toward safety.

When these factors are combined with fewer miles driven and at safer speeds (whether to save gas or out of greater caution), the positive health benefits are considerable.