Factors affecting teen drivers' crash-related length of stay in the hospital

Teen drivers have higher rates of traffic crashes and crash-related hospitalization than other driver groups. Crash-related hospital length of stay (LOS) is not only a measure of financial costs and level of injury severity but also longer term effects following a traffic crash. Thus, it is important to investigate the effects of crash factors on the crash-related hospital length of stay of this driver group. The South Carolina Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (SC CODES) from 2005 to 2007 was used to construct zero-inflated negative binomial regression models to predict teen drivers' hospital length of stay based on the corresponding crash characteristics. The results found that not wearing a seatbelt increased male teen drivers' probability of being admitted to the hospital by 79.2% and their LOS by 40.5%. In addition, distracted male drivers had 51.42% lower odds to be admitted to the hospital than male drivers who were not distracted, whereas female distracted drivers had 34.6% higher odds to be admitted to the hospital than female drivers who were not distracted. Not wearing a seatbelt, drug use, and speeding are associated with a higher likelihood of being admitted to the hospital or longer hospital length of stay for both male and female teen drivers. Fatigued driving and driving at night are two factors unique to male teen drivers which increase their likelihood of being admitted to the hospital. Evaluating the implications of crash factors on hospital admissions and length of stay increases our understanding of crash factors and their safety consequences.