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Unintentional Injury
Unintentional injuries are mostly caused by motor vehicle crashes,
falls, drowning, burns, and accidental poisoning. Intentional injuries
result from deliberate acts - suicide, homicide, and assault. Suicide
is addressed in the mental health section of this report. Homicide
and assault are addressed in the Community Action Network's Community
Assessment: Public Safety, Crime Prevention and Victimization.
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Nationally, unintentional injury accounts for more physician visits
than any other health condition. In Texas, the MSA, and Travis County,
unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for individuals
between the ages of one and 44 and the leading cause of lost years
of potential life in all populations except Blacks (TDH, September
2000, Epigram).
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Unintentional injury is the
leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of one
and 44.
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The Healthy People Year 2000 target for all unintentional
injuries was no more than 29.3 deaths per 100,000 population (Public
Health Service, 1990).
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Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents
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- According to Texas Department of Health records, half of all deaths
from unintentional injury in Travis County were caused by motor vehicle
crashes.
- While crash injuries and fatalities declined from the mid-1980s
to a ten-year low in 1990, the decade of the 90's has seen a steady
rise. Department of Public Safety (DPS) statistics show that from
1990 to 1997, annual fatalities doubled from 50 to 105, and injuries
increased from 10,050 to 14,356, a 43 percent rise.
- Of the six largest urban counties in Texas, Travis County had the
highest number of DPS-reported traffic fatalities per 100,000 population
in 1996 and 1997. The other five counties declined in both absolute
numbers of fatalities and fatality rates from 1996 to 1997, while
Travis County's fatalities increased by 11 percent. Furthermore,
only Travis and Tarrant Counties showed an increase in overall traffic
injuries from 1996 to 1997.
- After peaking for the decade at 105 in 1997, fatalities in Travis
County declined to 88 in 1998. Non-fatal injuries also declined in
1998 after eight years of almost continuous increase.
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There was a steep decline in fatalities on FM
Roads, from 30 in 1997 to 12 in 1998. This decline on FM Roads
accounts for almost the entire decline in fatalities in Travis
County from 1997 to 1998. The percent of fatalities occurring on
interstate, US and state routes increased from 50.5 percent in
1997 to 63.6 percent in 1998. This continued a four-year trend
of these routes accounting for a progressively higher percentage
of the County's fatalities, while city streets accounted for a
progressively lower percentage. City streets accounted for only
17 percent of the fatalities in 1998, but 43.7 percent of the injuries.
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Pedestrian Injuries
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- Between 1994 and 1998, 69 Austin pedestrians were struck and killed
by motor vehicles.
- 49 percent of the victims were white and 51 percent minority.
- 77 percent (53) of the victims were males.
- 33 percent of the pedestrians were under 20 or over 60
years of age.
- 29 percent (20) of the pedestrians were killed on I-35.
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Motor Vehicle Collisions with Bicycles
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- From 1990 to 1996, 1222 bicyclists suffered non-fatal injuries
in collisions with motor vehicles on Travis County roads. Of theses
injuries, 179 (14.6 percent) were incapacitating.
- From 1990 to 1996, DPS statistics show that 12 bicyclists were
killed on Travis County roads.
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Accidental Poisoning
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- Accidental poisoning is the second leading cause of unintentional
injury deaths in Travis County.
- In 1999, the Texas Poison Center Network (TPCN) received 7,140
calls relating to human exposures to toxic substances.
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Other Injuries
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- All other unintentional injuries combined account for less than
25 percent of the total unintentional injury deaths in Travis County
during 1998 (TDH, September 2000, Epigram).
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