Comparison of traffic collision victims between older and younger drivers in South Korea: Epidemiologic characteristics, risk factors and types of collisions.

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study aimed to show the epidemiological characteristics and the difference in the risk factors and types of collision between older and younger drivers in Korea.MethodsWe collected data from the Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance retrieved by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2011 to 2015. We included injured drivers aged ≥ 18 years who were registered in the database, who were limited to drivers of four-wheeled vehicles. The enrolled patients were divided according to age into older (≥ 65 years) and younger (ResultsThe median age and interquartile range (IQR; 25th and 75th percentiles) of all drivers were 41.0 (IQR, 32.0-52.0), and 24,544 (65.4%) of them were men. The median age increased from 40.0 (IQR, 31.0-50.0) to 43.0 (IQR, 33.0-54.0) between 2010 and 2015 (P ConclusionsThe proportion of older drivers increased annually during the study period, and older drivers experienced more single-vehicle collision and used seat belt less frequently than younger drivers. A national policy support to reduce traffic collision in older drivers and public relation activities to enhance their seat belt use should be strengthened in the future.