Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
College/Unit
School of Public Health
Department/Program/Center
Epidemiology
Abstract
Background
Motor vehicle collisions comprise the majority of occupational-related fatalities in the United States and West Virginia has one of the highest occupational-related fatality rates in the nation. The purpose of this study was to compare work and non-work-related collisions, crash locations, and the characteristics of in-state and out-of-state drivers ≥18 years of age who were fatally injured in work-related collisions in West Virginia.
Methodology
Data were from the 2000–2017 Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Work and non-work-related crashes and characteristics in-state vs. out-of-state drivers were compared using binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Crash locations were compared via spatial analyses using kernel density estimations.
Results
Among the 5,835 individuals fatally injured in crashes, 209 were designated ‘at work’. The odds of being a work-related crash were 85% lower [Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.15; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.04, 0.49] among those testing positive for alcohol, but 2.5 times greater (OR = 2.56; 95% CI: 1.16, 5.65) among those holding a commercial driver’s license. The odds of being an in-state driver were 75% lower (OR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.53) among those wearing a safety belt, but 2.7 times greater among workers testing drug positive (OR = 2.67; 95% CI: 1.10, 6.52). In-state drivers were also less likely to be driving a large truck or be involved in single vehicle collisions and less likely to experience crashes on weekends, nights, or on highways. Spatial patterns of crash locations varied slightly between workers and non-workers.
Conclusions
Work-related crashes differed greatly from non-work-related crashes in West Virginia. Stark differences existed between in-state and out-of-state workers and their crashes. Various avenues for workplace safety interventions exist, including seatbelt initiatives and drug testing policies for non-commercial drivers, which could help mitigate West Virginia’s elevated, occupational-related, traffic fatality rate.
Digital Commons Citation
Rudisill, Toni Marie, "Differences between occupational and non-occupational-related motor vehicle collisions in West Virginia: A cross-sectional and spatial analysis" (2019). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 1256.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/1256
Source Citation
Rudisill TM, Menon S, Hendricks B, Zhu M, Smith GS (2019) Differences between occupational and non-occupational-related motor vehicle collisions in West Virginia: A cross-sectional and spatial analysis. PLoS ONE 14(12): e0227388. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227388
Comments
© 2019 Rudisill et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.