Road traffic injuries among young car drivers by country of origin and socioeconomic position

Objectives: The study examines the relationship between country of birth, socioeconomic position, and the risk of being injured as a young car driver. Methods: The study consists of a nationwide follow-up of young people in Sweden in which individual census records on country of birth and household socioeconomic position were linked to the Hospital Discharge Register so as to identify subjects' road traffic injuries (RTIs) as car drivers. Multivariate analyses were conducted using Cox regression, with hospital admission due to RTI as car driver as the dependent variable. Results: There are no significant differences in injury risks between foreign-born and Swedish-born drivers, but clear socioeconomic differences were found. Young drivers from manual worker families have 80% higher risk for RTIs compared to drivers in families with salaried employee parents (RR 1.83, CI 1.63-2.05). Conclusions: The results do not support the idea that type of country of origin constitutes a significant marker of risk level for RTI as novice car driver. On the other hand, the results reconfirm that, in Sweden, the risk of RTI among young drivers from different socioeconomic backgrounds varies.