title: Reduction in fatalities, ambulance calls, and hospital admissions for road trauma after implementation of new traffic laws.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated the public health benefits of traffic laws targeting speeding and drunk drivers (British Columbia, Canada, September 2010).
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied fatal crashes and ambulance dispatches and hospital admissions for road trauma, using interrupted time series with multiple nonequivalent comparison series. We determined estimates of effect using linear regression models incorporating an autoregressive integrated moving average error term. We used neighboring jurisdictions (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Washington State) as external controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the 2 years after implementation of the new laws, significant decreases occurred in fatal crashes (21.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI]=15.3, 26.4) and in hospital admissions (8.0%; 95% CI=0.6, 14.9) and ambulance calls (7.2%; 95% CI=1.1, 13.0) for road trauma. We found a very large reduction in alcohol-related fatal crashes (52.0%; 95% CI=34.5, 69.5), and the benefits of the new laws are likely primarily the result of a reduction in drinking and driving.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that laws calling for immediate sanctions for dangerous drivers can reduce road trauma and should be supported.
authors.affiliation: Jeffrey R. Brubacher, Herbert Chan, Edi Desapriya, and Roy Purssell are with the Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Roy Purssell is also with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver. Penelope Brasher is with the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, University of British Columbia. Shannon Erdelyi is with the Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia. Mark Asbridge is with the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Scott Macdonald is with the Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, University of Victoria, British Columbia. Nadine Schuurman is with the Department of Geography, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia. Ian Pike is with the British Columbia Injury Prevention and Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia.
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Brubacher
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Penelope
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brasher
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erdelyi
authors.forename: Edi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Desapriya
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asbridge
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Purssell
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schuurman
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pike
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D001955:British Columbia; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans