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Characteristics of Drivers Involved in Single-Car AccidentsA Comparative Study
Chester W. Schmidt, Jr., MD;
Seymour Perlin, MD;
Russell S. Fisher, MD;
John W. Shaffer, PhD
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1972;27(6):800-803.
Abstract
This report describes a methodology for retrospective, in-depth, psychological investigation of driver fatalities. The results suggest that fatally injured drivers of single-car accidents can be differentiated from fatally injured drivers of multiple-car accidents on the basis of life-style and personality characteristics. Similarly, an overlap group of multiple-car and single-car drivers with a history of excessive alcohol usage may be differentiated from all other fatally injured drivers on the same basis.
The Katz Adjustment scales significantly differentiated the above groups from a normative population on five of 18 scales. Preventive methods suggested by these results include educational efforts directed toward sensitizing persons in contact with high-risk drivers for the purposes of intervention, and the development of automatic safety equipment.
Author Affiliations
Wayne Townes; Baltimore
From the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Drs. Schmidt, Perlin, and Shaffer). Dr. Fisher is Chief Medical Examiner for the City of Baltimore and Wayne Townes an accident investigator with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Maryland.
Footnotes
Accepted for publication Aug 17, 1972.
Reprint requests to the Department of Psychiatry, Baltimore City Hospitals, 4940 Eastern Ave, Baltimore 21224 (Dr. Schmidt).
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Biorhythms and Highway Crashes: Are They Related?
Shaffer et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1978;35:41-46.
ABSTRACT
Social Adjustment Profiles of Fatally Injured Drivers: A Replication and Extension
Shaffer et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1974;30:508-511.
ABSTRACT
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