Suicide by crashing into a heavy vehicle: A one-year follow-up study of professional drivers

• Published in: Transportation research. Part F, Traffic psychology and behaviour Traffic psychology and behaviour, 2020-08, Vol.73, p.318-324
• Main Authors: Radun, Igor, Radun, Jenni, Kaistinen, Jyrki, Parkkari, Inkeri, Kecklund, Göran, Olivier, Jake, Theorell, Töres
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Automobile drivers; Crashes; Heavy vehicle drivers; Heavy vehicles; Injuries at work; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Motor-vehicle crashes; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychology; psykologi; PTSD; Suicides & suicide attempts; Traffic accidents & safety; Truck drivers; Violent suicide
• ISSN: 1369-8478; 1873-5517; 1873-5517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2020.07.003

•Some suicides are attempted by crashing into a heavy vehicle.•Studies on heavy vehicle drivers involved in these types of crashes are lacking.•We present a one-year follow-up study of heavy vehicle drivers involved in a suicide crash.•Two thirds reported some kind of negative consequences on their well-being.•A routine post-crash evaluation of the need for psychological treatment is advisable. Train and heavy vehicle drivers can experience a traumatic event caused by people attempting suicide by crashing into their vehicles or jumping in front of them. While there are a number of studies on train drivers showing the negative consequences these events can have on their well-being, there are no studies on heavy vehicle drivers involved in these types of crashes. In the current study, we surveyed Finnish heavy vehicle drivers (N = 15) involved in a suicide crash in the year 2017 regarding their experiences and coping approximately one month (T1) and one year (T2) after the crash. Ten of these drivers reported one or various combinations of measurable consequences such as minor physical injuries, shorter or longer sickness absences, significant posttraumatic stress symptoms (measured using the Impact of Events Scale-Revised) and requiring psychological help. Posttraumatic stress symptoms decreased over time; however, three out of the four drivers who had a high IES-R score at T1 were still around the IES-R cut-off score at T2. This research raises questions whether and what kind of support heavy vehicle drivers who have been involved in a suicide crash should be given.