NCJ Number
180407
Date Published
1999
Length
58 pages
Annotation
This document contains data that identify the scope, magnitude, and severity of the emergency service vehicle traffic crash problem in Missouri.
Abstract
The primary source of information for this report is the Statewide Traffic Accident Records System. In 1998 there were 1,812 Missouri traffic crashes involving emergency service vehicles. Four persons were killed and 632 persons were injured in these crashes. Of the 1,851 emergency service vehicles involved, 382 (20.6 percent) were on an emergency run at the time of the crash. The seriousness of these traffic crashes is compounded by the fact that they delayed or prevented the unit from responding to the original emergency situation. Police vehicles accounted for the majority of emergency service vehicles involved in the crashes. Of the 1,851 emergency vehicles involved in 1998 crashes, 1,510 (81.6 percent) were law enforcement vehicles. A total of 169 (9.1 percent) emergency vehicles involved in crashes were fire vehicles. Although no accurate count is available, the number of fire vehicles in the State is estimated to be larger than the ambulance vehicle population, but much less than the police vehicle population. A total of 155 (8.4 percent) of the emergency vehicles involved in crashes were ambulances; however, ambulances do not compose a large proportion of the State's emergency service vehicle population. Extensive tables and figures