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. 2022 Apr;11(4):1462-1467.
doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1592_21. Epub 2022 Mar 18.

Effects of different crash data variables on EMS response time for a rural county in alabama

Sneha R Vanga  1 , Phillip M Ligrani  1 , Mehrnaz Doustmohammadi  1 , Michael Anderson  1
Affiliations

Effects of different crash data variables on EMS response time for a rural county in alabama

Sneha R Vanga et al. J Family Med Prim Care. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Response time of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is an important factor related to preventable deaths in road crash incidents. This study focuses on analyzing the effects of different independent variables on the EMS Response Time (ERT). Independent variables considered for this investigation are travel time, day of the week, crash severity, weather, time of the day, and lighting condition. Understanding outcomes resulting from variations of the considered parameters on ERT is crucial to minimize the possibility of adverse outcomes which are tied to different types of injuries, and vital to limit the prospect of fatalities. Crash data used for this study is from a rural county in Alabama where only one EMS control location is available. Results from the analysis indicate that ERT becomes larger as travel time increases. ERT is also larger on weekends than on weekdays. ERT is larger in the evening and night when compared with morning. When the weather is clear or cloudy, the ERT parameter is shorter. But when the weather is extreme, with mist, fog, or rain, the parameter is longer. When roads are dark, ERT is long. When daylight is present, the ERT is shorter. If the crash is fatal, the parameter is longer compared with situations when crash injuries are non-severe.

Keywords: Automobile collision; EMS response time; emergency medical services; global independent variables; local independent variables.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) EMS response time (ERT) variation with travel time in minutes. (b) No. of crashes variation with code for the variable and travel time. Average ERT is given above bars for each code value. (c) EMS delay time variation with travel time in minutes
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) EMS response time (ERT) variation with code for the variable, day of the week. (b) No. of crashes variation with code for the variable and day of the week. Average ERT is given above bars for each code value
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) EMS response time (ERT) variation with code for the variable, crash severity. (b) No. of crashes variation with code for the variable and crash severity. Average ERT is given above bars for each code value
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) EMS response time (ERT) variation with code for the variable, weather. (b) No. of crashes variation with code for the variable and weather. Average ERT is given above bars for each code value
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) EMS response time (ERT) variation with code for the variable, time of the day. (b) No. of crashes variation with code for the variable and time of the day. Average ERT is given above bars for each code value
Figure 6
Figure 6
(a) EMS response time (ERT) variation with code for the variable, lighting condition. (b) No. of crashes variation with code for the variable and lighting condition. Average ERT is given above bars for each code value
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