This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Humvee injuries require new safety regulations for soldiers, researchers find
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Soldiers in highly mobile multipurpose wheeled vehicles, or Humvees, are more likely to be involved in a crash than in any other military vehicle, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy.
“Nearly half of all those involved in motor vehicle crashes in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan from 2002 to 2006 were in Humvees at the time of the crash,” Keshia Pollack, PhD, lead author and associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, stated in a press release. “It is critical that we consider risk factors for these crashes, and use this knowledge to develop injury prevention programs and policies.”
|
|
Pollack and colleagues analyzed data from 964 Humvee crashes from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center on military mobile vehicles. Humvee occupants represented 52% of all military vehicle-related crashes, according to the abstract. Trauma patients were significantly at risk for injury if they were the operator of the Humvee or if they were in the gunner position. Combat situations also posed a significant risk for injury, Pollack noted.
Over time, the number of Humvee-related injuries decreased, which supports the use of combat simulation training, enforcement of safety regulations and increased protection for vulnerable riders, according to the abstract.
Reference:
Peik SM, Pollack KM, Canham-Chervak M, et al. Injuries to deployed US army soldiers involved in HMMWV crashes, 2002-2006. Mil Med. 2012; 177(8):963-969.
Disclosure: Research was funded through grants from the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, CDC and Department of Defense.
