Collisions with passenger cars and moose, Sweden

Moose-Motor Vehicle Collision: A Continuing Hazard in Northern New England

BACKGROUND

Moose-motor vehicle collisions (MMVC) are especially dangerous to vehicle occupants because of the height and mass of the animal, which often collapses the roof and has a direct impact into the passenger compartment.

STUDY DESIGN

Public data on MMVC were obtained from the states of New England (NE), and trauma registry data from centers in NH and ME.

RESULTS

For all of NE, the annual incidence of reported MMVC has declined from a peak of >1,200 in 1998, but has still averaged >500 over the last 5 years, predominantly in ME, NH, and VT. Public education may have contributed to the decline, but the moose population has also apparently decreased due to environmental changes. In NE, MMVCs are most frequent in the summer months and evening hours. Maine data on crashes involving wild ungulates from 2003 to 2017 document 50,281 collisions with deer and 7,061 collisions with moose; 26 of the latter (0.37%) resulted in a human fatality. Logistic regression models demonstrate that vehicle occupant mortality, after controlling for multiple factors related to vehicle speed, is greatly increased when striking a moose rather than a deer (odds ratio [OR] 13.4, 95% CI 6.3, 28.7). In these data, there were no fatalities among occupants of Swedish cars, which are specifically engineered to tolerate MMVC. Three NH/ME trauma centers registered 124 cases of MMVC: median Injury Severity Score was 9; 5 patients died (4%); and 76 patients (61%) had injuries of the head, face, and/or cervical spine.

CONCLUSIONS

Moose-motor vehicle collisions remain a frequent and serious hazard to motor vehicle occupants in northern NE. Trauma services should recognize characteristic injury patterns. Continuing public education, cautious driving, and moose herd management are warranted.

A Unique Fatal Moose Attack Mimicking Homicide

Fatalities caused by animal attacks are rare, but have the potential to mimic homicide. We present a case in which a moose attacked and killed a woman who was walking her dog in a forest. Autopsy showed widespread blunt trauma with a large laceration on one leg in which blades of grass were embedded. Flail chest was the cause of death. The case was initially conceived as homicide by means of a riding lawn mower. A review of the case by moose experts and analyses of biological trace material that proved to originate from moose, established the true source of injury. The dog probably provoked a moose, which, in response, stomped and gored the victim to death. The injuries resembled those previously reported from attacks by cattle and water buffalo. Fatal moose attacks constitute an extremely rare threat in boreal areas, but can be considered in traumatic deaths of unknown cause.

Maxillofacial injuries in moose-motor vehicle collisions versus other high-speed motor vehicle collisions

BACKGROUND

Anecdotal experience has suggested that there is a higher frequency of maxillofacial injuries among motor vehicle collisions involving moose.

OBJECTIVES

A retrospective cohort study design was used to investigate the incidence of various injuries resulting from moose-motor vehicle collisions versus other high-speed motor vehicle collisions.

METHODS

A chart review was conducted among patients presenting to a Canadian regional trauma centre during the five-year period from 1996 to 2000.

RESULTS

Fifty-seven moose-motor vehicle collisions were identified; 121 high-speed collisions were randomly selected as a control group. Demographic, collision and injury data were collected from these charts and statistically analyzed. The general demographic features of the two groups were similar. Moose collisions were typically frontal impact resulting in windshield damage. The overall injury severity was similar in both groups. Likewise, the frequency of intracranial, spinal, thoracic and extremity injuries was similar for both groups. The group involved in collisions with moose, however, was 1.8 times more likely then controls to sustain a maxillofacial injury (P=0.004) and four times more likely to sustain a maxillofacial fracture (P=0.006).

CONCLUSIONS

Occupants of motor vehicles colliding with moose are more likely to sustain maxillofacial injuries than those involved in other types of motor vehicle collisions. It is speculated that this distribution of injuries relates to the mechanism of collision with these large mammals with a high centre of gravity.

Kangaroo-related motor vehicle collisions

BACKGROUND

Motor vehicle collisions that are caused by large animals affect motorists in most parts of the world and tend to be increasing in incidence. Although traffic accidents involving kangaroos are common in Australia, we are not aware of any series that reported human injuries caused by such accidents. We aimed to study the mechanism, type, and outcome of these injuries.

METHODS

Forty-six patients (32 male and 14 female patients; median age, 31.5 years) who presented to Royal Perth Hospital and who had been involved in a motor vehicle collision that was related to kangaroos between July 1994 and June 2000 were studied.

RESULTS

The patients had a median Injury Severity Score of 9 (range, 1-41); 67.4% were car collisions and 32.6% were motorbike collisions, 41.3% had direct collision with a kangaroo, 34.8% hit a secondary object, and 32.6% rolled over. Most of these injuries affected the head and face (54.3%), upper extremities (57.4%), and lower extremities (40.4%). Only four had intracranial injuries (8.7%). Ninety percent of these collisions occurred at night, 74% in the countryside and 85% on highways or streets. The incidence was reduced during winter. Only one patient in this series died (2.2%).

CONCLUSION

Most kangaroo-related motor vehicle collisions occurred at night, in the countryside, and on highways when the driver tried to avoid a kangaroo. Although injuries resulting from these collisions are relatively mild, increased awareness of their presence and ways to reduce them have to be promoted.

Occupational fatalities due to animal-related events

OBJECTIVE

To better understand the extent of animal-related fatalities in the workplace.

METHODS

This study utilized Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries files from the US Department of Labor for the years 1992-1997 to describe the events surrounding human workplace fatalities associated with animals.

RESULTS

During the 6-year time period, 350 workplace deaths could be associated with an animal-related event. Cattle and horses were the animals primarily involved, and workers in the agricultural industry experienced the majority of events. Many deaths involved transportation events, either direct collision with the animal or highway crashes trying to avoid collision with an animal. Exotic animals, primarily elephants and tigers, were responsible for a few deaths. A small number of workers died of a zoonotic infection.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that approximately 1% of workplace fatalities are associated with an animal-related event. Methods to decrease the frequency of an animal injury are suggested.

Deer-vehicle crashes: extensive peak at 1 hour after sunset

BACKGROUND

On-road encounters with animals resulted in 231 fatalities in the United States in 1999, and the annual number of deer-vehicle crashes (DVCs) has been estimated to total more than 500,000. Previous studies suggest that the number of DVCs is highest during the hours of dusk and dawn. However, these studies have not adequately taken into account the synchronization of visibility and animal behavior with sunset and sunrise. The goal of this study was to determine the temporal variation in the crash risk, so that this variation could be better taken into account by road users.

METHODS

In Finland, the recorded times for 13,379 crashes with moose and 8191 crashes with white-tailed deer were adjusted to sunset and sunrise according to the location and date of occurrence. In addition, two sample distributions of traffic volume on public roads were adjusted to sunset. The DVC rate was computed as the proportion of number of crashes to traffic volume.

RESULTS

The highest crash peak occurred 1 hour after sunset for both species of deer. The relative risk peaked at 30 times the seasonal daytime level of the crash rate for white-tailed deer in the fall and at over 60 times for moose in the summer.

CONCLUSIONS

Drivers can effectively reduce their risk of DVCs by reducing speed and remaining alert for deer intrusions on the roadway during the most critical time of the day: after sunset.

Single-vehicle crashes and alcohol: a retrospective study of passenger car fatalities in northern Sweden

This retrospective study of fatal passenger car crash victims in northern Sweden compares 396 multiple-vehicle (MV) and 201 single-vehicle (SV) fatalities from 1980 through 1989. Compared to MV fatalities, SV victims were more frequently males, were younger, were more often inebriated, had higher blood alcohol concentrations, had a higher frequency of fatty liver, and were less often restrained. The SV fatalities occurred most often from May through October, from Fridays through Sundays, and from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The road surface was usually dry, especially for drunken SV drivers. The SV drivers also more often lacked a valid driver's license. The study confirms that alcohol is one of the most important factors associated with traffic fatalities, particularly in SV crashes. More than half (56%) of the SV victims were inebriated by alcohol (MV, 11%), had a mean blood alcohol concentration of 1.9 g/l (MV, 1.6 g/l), and one-third had a fatty liver (MV, 20%). We also found a relation between fatty liver and increased blood alcohol concentrations, suggesting that studies regarding the role of alcohol in traffic fatalities should also include an evaluation of liver morphology.

Injuries caused by animals

Injuries caused by animals and treated at the University Hospital of Umeå were analysed. Dogs caused nearly one-half of the injuries, while horses caused one-third of the injuries and the highest number of fractures. The 'cost' of treatment and sickness benefit was fairly evenly distributed between horse-, cattle-, and dog-related injuries. The average 'cost' per injured person was, however, highest in those injured in cattle accidents and moose-car collisions. The impact of animal-related injuries on the health care and social security systems was similar to occupational accidents and car accidents in several respects.