Motor vehicle accident deaths, 1979 to 2004

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by Pamela L. Ramage-Morin

Abstract
Keywords
The data
Findings
Author

Abstract

This article reviews motor vehicle accident (MVA) deaths from 1979 through 2004, with a more in-depth look from 2000 onwards. The data are from the Vital Statistics Death Database. Crude and age-standardized death rates were used to examine mortality over time. Average annual death rates were compared by age, sex and other selected characteristics. The average daily number of deaths was used to show seasonal fluctuations. Deaths resulting from motor vehicle accidents declined from 25 deaths per 100,000 population in 1979 to 9 deaths per 100,000 population in 2004. Despite this decline, motor vehicle accidents remain a leading cause of death for young people. From 2000 through 2004, MVA deaths accounted for 1.3% of all deaths Canada, but 17.3% of all deaths among people younger than 30. Males consistently had higher MVA death rates than did females

Keywords

Mortality, motor vehicle accidents, vital statistics

The data

Results for this study are based on Statistics Canada's Vital Statistics - Death Database, accessed through the Information Retriever / Metainformation Administrator (IRMA) software (July 2007). Data are extracted from death certificates submitted by the provinces and territories to Statistics Canada. Cause of death is coded according to World Health Organization's International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). [Full text]

Findings

In 2004, there were 21.6 million licensed drivers in Canada among a population of 25.8 million people aged 16 or older. They operated over 25 million registered vehicles. Most of these vehicles (76%) were cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles for on-road use, while a smaller proportion were farm, construction and off-road vehicles. [Full text]

Author

Pamela L. Ramage-Morin (1-613-951-1760; pamela.ramage-morin@statcan.gc.ca) is with the Health Information and Research Division at Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6.

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