Fatal crashes of female drivers wearing safety belts

摘要

Fatal crash circumstances for 48 belted female drivers were studied in depth and compared to those of 83 belted male drivers in a similar population of vehicles. Women had a higher incidence of crashes on slippery roads, during lane changes and passing maneuvers than men who had a higher rate of aggressive driving and speed related crashes (χ{sup}2 = 10.47, p < 0.001). Driver-side damage was significantly more frequent in female than male crashes (χ{sup}2 = 5.74, p < 0.025) and women had a higher fraction of side impacts (45.9% versus 31.4%) and crashes during daylight (87.0% versus 72.3%, χ{sup}2 = 3.65, p < 0.05) than men. Women also had a higher fraction of potentially avoidable crashes than men (57.5% versus 39.0%) and a lower involvement related to aggressive driving (10.6% versus 25.6%). These differences were statistically significant (χ{sup}2 = 5.41, p < 0.025). Thirty percent of the avoidable fatal crashes of women occurred on slippery roads where the driver's reaction and experience in handling a vehicle in an emergency may be a factor.