Land Motor Vehicle-Related Drownings in Sweden

Objectives: Knowledge regarding drownings related to land motor vehicle events is limited although reports of these events occur globally. This study elucidates crash and injury mechanisms in motor vehicle-related drownings in a Swedish population during 1992 through 2006 in order to suggest prevent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Traffic injury prevention 2008-12, Vol.9 (6), p.539-543
Main Authors: Stjernbrandt, Albin, Öström, Mats, Eriksson, Anders, Björnstig, Ulf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accident Prevention
Accidents, Traffic - mortality
Accidents, Traffic - prevention & control
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alcohol
Child
Child, Preschool
Databases, Factual
Drowning
Drowning - epidemiology
Drowning - prevention & control
Female
Forensic Medicine
Humans
Immersion
Incidence
Injuries
Male
Middle Aged
Motor Vehicles
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
rättsmedicin
Sex Distribution
Sweden - epidemiology
Young Adult
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Summary:Objectives: Knowledge regarding drownings related to land motor vehicle events is limited although reports of these events occur globally. This study elucidates crash and injury mechanisms in motor vehicle-related drownings in a Swedish population during 1992 through 2006 in order to suggest preventive countermeasures. Methods: The cases were identified in the National Board of Forensic Medicine database and crosschecked against the official statistics. All available autopsy reports, hospital records, and police records were analyzed. In addition, corresponding in-depth analyses performed by the Swedish Road Administration were reviewed and analyzed. Results: In total, 83 drownings occurred in 64 vehicles. The great majority of victims had no serious injuries (92% MAIS ≤ 2) and would probably have survived if they had not drowned. Most events took place in waters directly adjacent to a roadway (36%) or bridge (34%). The vehicles were most often (72%) found upside down, and most drownings occurred in shallow water (65% depth
ISSN:1538-9588
1538-957X
1538-957X
DOI:10.1080/15389580802339150