Hispanic Involvement in Motor Vehicle Accidents

Abstract

Many traffic safety-related programs developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have helped raise the awareness of traffic safety in the United States. So far, the majority of the programs have been geared to English-speaking, average, middle-class Americans. However, because of the surge of immigrants from non-English-speaking countries and an increase in their involvement in motor vehicle accidents, the need for reaching culturally diverse groups has increased. The involvement of Hispanics, the nation's third-largest ethnic group, in motor vehicle accidents is becoming an important agenda. Nationwide, motor vehicle accidents are the third leading cause of death for Hispanics after heart disease and cancer. In spite of this trend, no comprehensive summary of traffic accidents involving Hispanics and their attitude toward traffic safety has been compiled. A study showed a lack of traffic injury and fatality data for Hispanics and a lack of uniformity in reporting such data. Deaths due to motor vehicle accidents were high among Hispanics in their most productive period. Considering the pyramid demographic pattern of Hispanics, traffic safety will be a serious issue in the Hispanic community in the near future.