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BACKGROUND: Worldwide, injuries represent one of the leading causes of mortality, and nearly one-quarter of all injuries are road traffic related. In many high-income countries, the burden of road traffic injuries (RTIs) has shifted from premature death to injury and disability with long-term consequences; therefore, it is important to assess the full burden of an RTI on individual lives. OBJECTIVE: To describe how men and women with minor and moderate injuries reported the consequences of an RTI on their health and lives. METHODS: The study was designed as an explorative qualitative study, in which the answers to an open-ended question concerning the life and health consequences following injury were analysed using systematic text condensation. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 692 respondents with a minor or a moderate injury were included. RESULTS: The respondents reported the consequences of the crash on their health and lives according to four categories: physical consequences, psychological consequences, everyday life consequences and financial consequences. The results show that medically classified minor and moderate injuries have detrimental long-term health and life consequences. Although men and women report some similar consequences, there are substantial differences in their reported psychological and everyday life consequences following an injury. Women report travel anxiety and PTSD-like symptoms, being life altering for them compared with men, for whom these types of reports were missing. CONCLUSION: These differences emphasise the importance of considering gender-specific physical and psychological consequences following an RTI.

Rapporten är framtagen med ekonomiska bidrag från Trafikverkets Skyltfond. Ståndpunkter och slutsatser i rapporten reflekterar författaren och överensstämmer inte med nödvändighet med Trafikverkets ståndpunkter och slutsatser inom rapportens ämnesområden. För att minska risken för olyckor har vid många korsningspunkter genomförts åtgärder som ska sänka cyklisternas hastighet. En åtgärd som används i flera städer är taktila farthinder, till exempel ”rumble strips” eller gatstenar nedlagda tvärs över cykelvägen för att uppmärksamma cyklisten på korsande bil- eller gångtrafik. Effekten av taktila farthinder är dock dåligt utredd. Det är inte allmänt känt i vilken utsträckning de påverkar vare sig cyklisters hastighet eller övriga faktorer som uppmärksamhet, upplevd säkerhet och komfort. Dock kan ojämnt underlag i sig innebära en förhöjd olycksrisk. Syftet med projektet har varit att öka kunskapen om taktila farthinder för cyklister genom att undersöka i vilken utsträckning taktila farthinder minskar hastigheten hos cyklister samt hur cyklisterna subjektivt uppfattar taktila farthinder med avseende på upplevd säkerhet, komfort och uppmärksamhet på omgivningen. Detta har gjorts genom att utföra hastighetsmätningar vid korsningar med och utan taktila farthinder i Göteborg, samt genom intervjuer med cyklister. Hastighetsmätningarna utfördes vid sex mätplatser som parvis hade jämförbara förutsättningar. Cyklisters hastighet vid en mätplats med taktilt farthinder jämfördes med hastigheten vid en referensplats utan farthinder. Hastigheten uppmättes i två snitt per mätplats; ett strax innan farthindret (eller motsvarande position) samt ett på farthindret (eller motsvarande). Hastighetsmätningarna visar inget samband mellan farthinder och cyklisternas hastighet. Vid första mätplatsparet visar mätningarna att vid korsningen utan farthinder har cyklisterna både lägre medelhastighet samt större inbromsning än cyklisterna vid korsningen med farthinder. Resultatet från de två andra, Skyltfonden

It is a well-known fact that experience is important for safe driving. Previously, this presented a problem since experience was mostly gained during the most dangerous period of driving—the first years with a licence. In many countries, this “experience paradox” has been addressed by providing increased opportunities to gain experience through supervised practice. One question, however, which still needs to be answered is what has been lost and what has been gained through supervised practice. Does this method lead to fewer accidents after licensing and/or has the number of accidents in driving practice increased? There were three aims in the study. The first was to calculate the size of the accident problem in terms of the number of accidents, health risk and accident risk during practising. The second aim was to evaluate the solution of the “experience paradox” that supervised practice suggests by calculating the costs in terms of accidents during driving practice and the benefits in terms of reduced accident involvement after obtaining a licence. The third aim was to analyse conflict types that occur during driving practice. National register data on licence holders and police-reported injury accidents and self-reported exposure were used. The results show that during the period 1994–2000, 444 driving practice injury accidents were registered, compared to 13,657 accidents during the first 2 years with a licence. The health risk during the period after licensing was 33 times higher and the accident risk 10 times higher than the corresponding risk during practice. The cost-benefit analysis showed that the benefits in terms of accident reduction after licensing were 30 times higher than the costs in terms of driving practice accidents. It is recommended that measures to reduce such accidents should focus on better education of the lay instructor, but not on introducing measures to reduce the amount of lay-instructed practice.

Through a reform implemented in Sweden, September 1993, the age limit for practising car driving was lowered from 17 1/2 to 16 years while the licensing age remained 18. The purpose of lowering the age limit was to give the learner drivers an opportunity, Addresses: Gregersen, Nils Petter, Swediah Natl Rd & Transport Res Inst, Linkoping, Sweden. Swediah Natl Rd & Transport Res Inst, Linkoping, Sweden. Linkoping Univ, Dept Hlth & Environm, Linkoping, Sweden. Linkoping Univ, Dept Educ & Psychol, Linkoping

Through a reform implemented in Sweden, September 1993, the age limit for practising car driving was lowered from 17½ to 16 years while the licensing age remained 18. The purpose of lowering the age limit was to give the learner drivers an opportunity to acquire more experience as drivers before being allowed to drive on their own. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the reform in terms of accident involvement and data were therefore obtained from the national register of police reported accidents. The results show that after the reform there was a general reduction in the accident risk (accidents per 10 million km) of novice drivers with approximately 15%. Additional analyses show that the reduction of accident risk in the group who utilised the new age limit was approximately 40%, whereas those who did not utilise the prolonged training period did not benefit at all. Between 45 and 50% of the age population were found to utilise the reform. The accident reduction does not seem to be just an initial first year effect since the results were similar over 3 years of novice drivers during their first 2 years with a licence. These results suggest that the reform has been beneficial for the safety of novice drivers in Sweden. The results also suggest a potential for additional safety improvements if more young learner drivers can be brought to utilise the low age limit.

This study covers the lifestyle component of the problems related to young drivers' accident risk. The purpose of the study is to measure the relationship between lifestyle and accident risk, and to identify specific high-risk and low-risk groups. Lifestyle is measured through a questionnaire, where 20-year-olds describe themselves and how often they deal with a large number of different activities, like sports, music, movies, reading, cars and driving, political engagement, etc. They also report their involvement in traffic accidents. With a principal component analysis followed by a cluster analysis, lifestyle profiles are defined. These profiles are finally correlated to accidents, which makes it possible to define high-risk and low-risk groups. The cluster analysis defined 15 clusters including four high-risk groups with an average overrisk of 150% and two low-risk groups with an average underrisk of 75%. The results are discussed from two perspectives. The first is the importance of theoretical understanding of the contribution of lifestyle factors to young drivers' high accident risk. The second is how the findings could be used in practical road safety measures, like education, campaigns, etc.