Fatigue in multiple-car fatal accidents.
In a re-examination of 334 fatal multiple car accidents, without any reasonable explanation besides possible intoxication, 205 drivers were found responsible for the accident. Twenty-one of these accidents happened between midnight and 0600 h and 11 of the drivers were found to be intoxicated with a blood/alcohol content (BAC) of more than 0.080%. The remaining 184 accidents took place during the rest of the day and 55 drivers were intoxicated. By comparing this apparent over-representation of intoxicated drivers in night-time accidents with that of a control group of no less than 15,923 drivers, it was possible to convert this over-representation into an under-representation. This decline in accidents while under influence seems to indicate another human accident factor specific to night-time traffic. It is concluded that fatigue is an overlooked but most obvious cause of otherwise unexplainable accidents in the night-time traffic.
Corfitsen
M T
MT
University Institute of Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Pathology, Copenhagen, Denmark.
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies