1. Ying Zhang, PhD. Ashley Newmyer, MPH Jihyun Ma, MS Ming Qu, PhD.

2. Background Gov. Dave Heineman applauded the safe actions of motorists who contributed to one of the lowest traffic fatality totals on record for the state. The fatality total for 2010 was 186 (updated 190), the second lowest total since recordkeeping began 73 years ago. (www.governor.nebraska.gov, January 1, 2011)www.governor.nebraska.gov 2

3. Background In 2010, about 32,800 people lost their lives due to motor vehicle crashes on the nation’s roads. The 3 percent decrease from 2009 brings the number of road deaths to the lowest level since the federal government began keeping records in 1949. Decades of public health interventions aimed at preventing deaths on the nation’s roads are making a difference. 3

4. In this study… To explore factors that possibly contributed to crash fatality decrease Method Nebraska CODES data including Crash (2000-2010), hospital discharge data (2002-2008) Trauma registry data (2001-2010) EMS data (2005-2009) Variables Person: age, gender, Risk factor: alcohol, seat belt Crash: type, location, time Trauma care EMS response 4

5. Results 5

6. Figure 1 Number of crashes, persons involved, deaths, and VMT by year Nebraska, 2000-2010 * VMT: Vehicle Miles Traveled 6

7. Figure 2 Crash injury severity by year Nebraska, 2000-2010 7

8. Figure 3 Person type distribution of crash fatalities Nebraska, 2000-2010 8

9. Figure 4 Gender distribution of crash fatalities Nebraska, 2000-2010 9

10. Figure 5 Number of crash fatalities by age group Nebraska, 2000-2010 10

11. Figure 6 Child restraint & safety belt observed usage rate Nebraska, 1999-2010 Provided by : Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, PO Box 94612, Lincoln, NE 68509 11

12. Figure 7 Safety belt usage rate vs. death rate per 100 million miles traveled Nebraska, 2000-2010 Provided by : Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, PO Box 94612, Lincoln, NE 68509 12

13. Figure 8 Percent of people who were in alcohol involved among all crashes and fatal crashes* Nebraska, 2000-2010 * If any driver in a crash was drunk, then all persons in the crash were considered alcohol involved. 13

14. Figure 9 Alcohol-related fatalities Crash rate per 100 million miles Nebraska, 2000-2010 Provided by : Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, PO Box 94612, Lincoln, NE 68509 14

15. Figure 10 Driving under the influence (DUI) arrests and convictions Nebraska, 2001-2010 15

16. Figure 11 Crash type distribution of crash fatalities Nebraska, 2000-2010 16

17. Figure 12 Location distribution of crash fatalities Nebraska, 2000-2010 17

18. Figure 13 Trauma registry case-fatality rates* by ISS category Nebraska, 2001-2010 For each ISS category, case-fatality rate=(number of persons died/number of person admitted)*100 18

19. Figure 14 Median EMS run time (minutes), Nebraska 2005-2009 From 911 call to EMS arrival at scene From scene to EMS arrival at hospital 19

20. Summary The following factors may have contributed to the decline of crash fatality Increasing seatbelt usage Alcohol related crash fatality Improved trauma care Faster EMS response, especially at rural areas 20

21. Acknowledgment Fred Zwonecheck, Linda Kearns, Nebraska Office of Highway Safety Sean Owings, Nebraska Dept. of Roads Dr. Erick Welsh, Injury Epidemiologist, NDHHS Dr. Jennifer Marcum, CDC/CSTE Fellow Qiao Ma, Intern, DHHS 21