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Research article
Ride-Sharing and Alcohol-Related Motor Vehicle Trauma in Southwestern Ontario
Richard Hilsden
Western University
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3111-3182
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This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background Ride sharing represents a new technology that increases the number of transportation options available to city residents. The arrival of ride sharing has been associated with a reduction in alcohol related car crashes in several US jurisdictions, but this association has not been studied in Canada.
Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed using the South Western Ontario Regional Trauma Registry (SWORTR) between April 1 2013 and Mar 31, 2019. The proportion of injuries from alcohol related motor vehicle crashes occurring prior to the availability of ride-sharing services was compared to those which occurred while these services were available.
Results During the study period 1002 patients injured in motor vehicle crashes were entered in the SWORTR, and 858 patients had an alcohol level recorded. 194 patients were injured when ride sharing was available, and 808 patients were injured when it was not available. For the primary outcome, 23.6% of patients were injured with positive alcohol levels with ride sharing available compared to 19.2% of patients without ride sharing services (p = 0.23). Evaluating the city of London alone, no significant difference was observed between alcohol related crashes and the availability of ride sharing (27.0% vs 17.0%, P = 0.173).
Conclusions Alcohol related motor vehicle collisions remain an important public health concern, and ride-sharing services have been proposed to reduce the rates of such events. Our research failed to demonstrate e any reduction in the proportion of injuries resulting from alcohol related motor vehicle crashes in South Western Ontario with the arrival of ride sharing services.
Keywords
Ride-sharing, Motor Vehicle Crash, Alcohol Abuse, Trauma
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This is a preprint. It has not completed peer review.
Research article
Ride-Sharing and Alcohol-Related Motor Vehicle Trauma in Southwestern Ontario
Richard Hilsden
Western University
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3111-3182
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
History
CURRENT STATUS: Posted
Version 1
Posted 12 May, 2020
No community comments so far
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Critical Care & Emergency Medicine
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background Ride sharing represents a new technology that increases the number of transportation options available to city residents. The arrival of ride sharing has been associated with a reduction in alcohol related car crashes in several US jurisdictions, but this association has not been studied in Canada.
Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed using the South Western Ontario Regional Trauma Registry (SWORTR) between April 1 2013 and Mar 31, 2019. The proportion of injuries from alcohol related motor vehicle crashes occurring prior to the availability of ride-sharing services was compared to those which occurred while these services were available.
Results During the study period 1002 patients injured in motor vehicle crashes were entered in the SWORTR, and 858 patients had an alcohol level recorded. 194 patients were injured when ride sharing was available, and 808 patients were injured when it was not available. For the primary outcome, 23.6% of patients were injured with positive alcohol levels with ride sharing available compared to 19.2% of patients without ride sharing services (p = 0.23). Evaluating the city of London alone, no significant difference was observed between alcohol related crashes and the availability of ride sharing (27.0% vs 17.0%, P = 0.173).
Conclusions Alcohol related motor vehicle collisions remain an important public health concern, and ride-sharing services have been proposed to reduce the rates of such events. Our research failed to demonstrate e any reduction in the proportion of injuries resulting from alcohol related motor vehicle crashes in South Western Ontario with the arrival of ride sharing services.