title: Characteristics of motor vehicle accidents resulting in spinal cord injury.
abstract: The majority of cases of spinal cord injury (SCI) occur during car crashes. Yet, relatively little is known about the precise accident factors involved. The present study investigated 30 cases of SCI in automobile drivers that occurred in a series of 91 spinal cord injuries. A matched control group was also studied. SCI drivers were not different from controls in terms of mortality, number of rollover crashes, alcohol use, citations for contributing human factors, nighttime accidents, or unfavorable weather and road conditions. However, SCI drivers less frequently used restraints. Results are discussed in terms of preventive measures, specifically, those concerning restraint use, alcohol use, and driving behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics (Rehabilitation), University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, NY 14642.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Cushman
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Good
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: States
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000407:Alabama / Q000453:epidemiology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D014887:Weather