Mohamed Mouloud Haddak

Road crash fatality rates in France: a comparison of road user types, taking account of travel practices

BACKGROUND Travel practices are changing: bicycle and motorized two-wheeler (MTW) use are rising in some of Frances large cities. These are cheaper modes of transport and therefore attractive at a time of economic crisis, but they also allow their users to avoid traffic congestion. At the same time, active transport modes such as walking and cycling are encouraged because they are beneficial to health and reduce pollution. It is therefore important to find out more about the road crash risks of the different modes of transport. To do this, we need to take account of the number of individuals who use each, and, even better, their travel levels. METHOD We estimated the exposure-based fatality rates for road traffic crashes in France, on the basis of the ratio between the number of fatalities and exposure to road accident risk. Fatality data were obtained from the French national police database of road traffic casualties in the period 2007-2008. Exposure data was estimated from the latest national household travel survey (ENTD) which was conducted from April 2007 to April 2008. Three quantities of travel were computed for each mode of transport: (1) the number of trips, (2) the distance traveled and (3) the time spent traveling. Annual fatality rates were assessed by road user type, age and sex. RESULTS The overall annual fatality rates were 6.3 per 100 million trips, 5.8 per billion kilometers traveled and 0.20 per million hours spent traveling. The fatality rates differed according to road user type, age and sex. The risk of being killed was 20 to 32 times higher for motorized two-wheeler users than for car occupants. For cyclists, the risk of being killed, both on the basis of time spent traveling and the number of trips was about 1.5 times higher than for car occupants. Risk for pedestrians compared to car occupants was similar according to time spent traveling, lower according to the number of trips and higher according to the distance traveled. People from the 17-20 and 21-29 age groups and those aged 70 and over had the highest rates. Males had higher rates than females, by a factor of between 2 and 3. CONCLUSION When exposure is taken into account, the risks for motorized two-wheeler users are extremely high compared to other types of road user. This disparity can be explained by the combination of speed and a lack of protection (except for helmets). The differential is so great that prevention measures could probably not eliminate it. The question that arises is as follows: with regard to public health, should not the use of MTW, or at least of motorcycles, be deterred? The difference between the fatality risk of cyclists and of car occupants is much smaller (1.5 times higher); besides, there is much room for improvements in cyclist safety, for instance by increasing the use of helmets and conspicuity equipment. Traffic calming could also benefit cyclists, pedestrians and perhaps moped users.

Willingness-to-pay for road safety improvement

Few studies have explored, to date, the issue of the monetary valuation of non-fatal injuries caused by road traffic accidents. The present paper seeks to raise interest in this question and to estimate, by contingent valuation, French households’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) to improve their road safety level and reduce their risk of non-fatal injuries following a road accident. More precisely, a Tobit and a type-II Tobit model were estimated to identify factors for WTP. The results highlighted the significant positive influence of injury severity on WTP. Experience of road traffic accidents seemed to play an important role, positively influencing valuation of non-fatal injury.

943 Risk factors predisposing to road traffic injury in youngsters: a case–control study

Background Youngster injury is the leading cause of mortality, morbidity and permanent disability in adolescent in the developed world. The objective of this research is to study the joint effect of family and contextual socioeconomic characteristics of teenagers on their risk of road accidents, taking into account their mobility practices, their behaviour and their attitude to risk. Methods A case-control study was conducted on a population of 601 young people aged 14–17, in 2013. Cases (208 subjects) were selected from the Rhône Road Trauma Registry. Controls (393 subjects) adjusted by age and sex were randomly selected by telephone. L’exposition à la circulation routière est mesurée pour chaque mode de transport utilisé par le budget-temps. The relationships between SES status, urban/periurban-rural location, mode of transport, mobility practice, and injury type were determined using conditional logistic regression. Exposure to road traffic is measured for each mode of transportation used by the weekly time budget. Results The intensive use of motorised two-wheelers holds an essential role in the risk of road accidents between 14 and 17 years (OR = 4.1 [2.3–7.2]), followed by regular cycling (OR = 3.6 [2.0–6.5]) and skating (OR = 1.9 [1.1–3.1]). Socio-economic status of young people is highlighted: students in professional college or young apprentices are at higher risk (OR = 2.1 [1–4.3]). Compared with urban adolescents, adolescents living in rural areas suffer a 1.9 higher risk (1.9 [1.2–3.0]). The links between road risk behaviour and smoking are also underlined (OR = 4.4 [2–9.7]). Conclusions These results show that adolescent road traffic injury in Rhône is a major health concern, especially among motorcyclist males (40% of the injuries) from rural area and from lower SES. But this study also shows the significant impact of behavioural factors (tobacco, cannabis) on the risk of accident.

886 The social determinants of traffic-related injuries among adolescents

Background Youngster injury is the leading cause of mortality, morbidity and permanent disability in adolescent in the developed world. The objective of this research is to study the joint effect of family and contextual socioeconomic characteristics of teenagers on their risk of road accidents, taking into account their mobility practices, their behaviour and their attitude to risk. Methods A case-control study was conducted on a population of 601 young people aged 14–17, in 2013. Cases (208 subjects) were selected from the Rhône Road Trauma Registry. Controls (393 subjects) adjusted by age and sex were randomly selected by telephone. L’exposition à la circulation routière est mesurée pour chaque mode de transport utilisé par le budget-temps. The relationships between SES status, urban/periurban-rural location, mode of transport, mobility practice, and injury type were determined using conditional logistic regression. Exposure to road traffic is measured for each mode of transportation used by the weekly time budget. Results The intensive use of motorised two-wheelers holds an essential role in the risk of road accidents between 14 and 17 years (OR = 4.1 [2.3–7.2]), followed by regular cycling (OR = 3.6 [2.0–6.5]) and skating (OR = 1.9 [1.1–3.1]). Socio-economic status of young people is highlighted: students in professional college or young apprentices are at higher risk (OR = 2.1 [1–4.3]). Compared with urban adolescents, adolescents living in rural areas suffer a 1.9 higher risk (1.9 [1.2–3.0]). The links between road risk behaviour and smoking are also underlined (OR = 4.4 [2–9.7]). Conclusions These results show that adolescent road traffic injury in Rhône is a major health concern, especially among motorcyclist males (40% of the injuries) from rural area and from lower SES. But this study also shows the significant impact of behavioural factors (tobacco, cannabis) on the risk of accident.

189 Exposure-based road traffic fatality rates by mode of travel in France

Background Travel practices are changing. Active transport modes such as walking and cycling are encouraged because they are beneficial to health and reduce pollution. Methods We estimated the exposure-based fatality rates for road traffic crashes in France, on the basis of the ratio between the number of fatalities and exposure to road accident risk. Fatality data were obtained from the French national police database of road traffic casualties in the period 2007–2008. Exposure data was estimated from the latest national household travel survey (ENTD) which was conducted from April 2007 to April 2008. Three quantities of travel were computed for each mode of transport: (1) the number of trips, 2) the distance travelled and (3) the time spent travelling. Annual fatality rates were assessed by road user type, age and sex. Results The fatality rates differed according to road user type, age and sex. The risk of being killed was 20 to 32 times higher for motorised two-wheeler users than for car occupants. For cyclists, the risk of being killed, both on the basis of time spent travelling and the number of trips was about 1.5 times higher than for car occupants. Risk for pedestrians compared to car occupants was similar according to time spent travelling, lower according to the number of trips and higher according to the distance travelled. People from the 17–20 and 21–29 age groups and those aged 70 and over had the highest rates. Males had higher rates than females, by a factor of between 2 and 3. Conclusions When exposure is taken into account, the risks for motorised two-wheeler users are extremely high compared to other types of road user. The difference between the fatality risk of cyclists and of car occupants is much smaller (1.5 times higher); besides, there is much room for improvements in cyclist safety, for instance by increasing the use of helmets and conspicuity equipment. Traffic calming could also benefit cyclists, pedestrians and perhaps moped users.