Citation

Fitzharris M, Fildes BN. Proc. Australas. Road Safety Res. Policing Educ. Conf. 2001; 5.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, copyright holder varies, Publisher Monash University)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Injuries following road traffic crashes are seen to vary according to age, roaduser type and collision partner. This is a consequence of differing injury tolerances due to age and gender, and vulnerability to vehicle-to-body contact among roaduser groups such as pedestrians and cyclists in collisions with vehicles. This paper presents hospital admission rates by roaduser type, age and gender in Victoria. Analysis showed that young persons (18 - 39 years) were over-represented in terms of admissions per head of population across all roaduser categories. Rates of femur fracture by age, gender and roaduser class were presented. Odds ratios for sustaining fractures of the femur for passengers, pedestrians and cyclists relative to drivers of the same age and gender were determined to examine the concept of vulnerability. The odds of sustaining fractures of the femur were high for pedestrians and cyclists relative to drivers of the same age and gender. Age and gender appeared to interact such that the odds of sustaining fractures of the femur increased with age, with the effect more pronounced for females.