Safety and Injury

Jump to a section... Introduction Unintentional injury Regular use of seatbelts Use of child safety seats Drinking and driving Swimming and water safety classes Smoke detectors in homes Firearms in the home Domestic and intimate partner violence Domestic violence assault Direct care physician to population ratio Hospitalization rate for unintentional injury Age-adjusted mortality for unintentional injury Years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to unintentional injury Hospitalization rate for motor vehicle crashes Age-adjusted mortality for motor vehicle crashes Years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to motor vehicle crashes Homicide Age-adjusted mortality for homicide Years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to homicide

Hospitalization rate for motor vehicle crashes

The rate of hospitalizations in 2004 due to motor vehicle crashes in Bexar County is 3.3 per 10,000 population, which is below the state average of 7.5 hospitalizations per 10,000 population. The East sector reported the highest rate with 4.5 hospitalizations per 10,000 people. Many motor vehicle crashes are known to involve the use of alcohol and other drugs. Often drug use is associated with social and economic disadvantage. People turn to drugs to dull the pain of harsh social and economic conditions³⁵. In addition, the number of miles driven per day may contribute to higher hospitalizations rates for motor vehicle crashes in Texas and Harris County.

Age-adjusted mortality for motor vehicle crashes

In 2004, 204 people lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes. This number accounts for one-third of the deaths due to unintentional injury. Deaths due to motor vehicle crashes generate a rate of 14 deaths per 100,000 people, which is somewhat lower than the statewide average of 17 deaths per 100,000 people. Trend data show that rates, both in Texas and Bexar County, have remained fairly stable since 1992. It is likely that the higher rate for motor vehicle deaths in Texas is the result of more miles driven on average throughout the State than in Bexar County.

Within Bexar County, the East, South and West sectors report rates that exceed the statewide rates motor vehicle crash deaths. In the East sector, 21 deaths per 100,000 population were attributed to motor vehicle crashes, this is followed by the West with 19 deaths per and the South at 17 deaths per 100,000. The county’s lowest rate of 9 motor vehicle crash deaths per 100,000, reported in the Northeast sector. Determinants of health concerns, among others, that influence motor vehicle deaths include race-ethnicity, age, income, education, and quality of roads. Young males are high-risk groups; Hispanic and African American males have higher mortality rates than non-Hispanic Whites.

Years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to motor vehicle crashes

Of the 201 deaths due to Motor vehicle crashes in Bexar County in 2004, 175 were to a person under age 65. This results in a motor vehicle crashes rate of 438 years of potential life lost per 100,000 population. The people who died lost on average of 33 years of life. The Bexar County YPLL rate trend is similar to that of the state of Texas and Harris County in that there was a slow increase in the YPLL rate from 1992 to 1996 followed by a slow decline in rates.

The West sector with an YPLL rate of 645 per 100,000 for motor vehicle crashes exceeds the Texas rate of 515 YPLL per 100,000 by 25 percent. The YPLL rates of the other southern sectors, while lower than the State rate, exceed the sectors in the north by approximately 40 percent. Efforts to reduce motor vehicle deaths such as requiring the use of seat belts and passing laws prohibiting street racing have been effective but the lost of young lives, as a result of careless behaviors, is still much higher than acceptable. Perhaps community based projects that involve those at risk can design new ways to think about reducing risks.