A study by the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy found that higher childhood injury rates were associated with lower income levels. Injury mortality rates for children from the lowest income neighbourhoods in rural areas were almost 2.5 times higher than those from the highest income neighbourhoods. For urban areas, children from the lowest income neighbourhoods had injury mortality rates 4.5 times higher than those from the highest income areas. Injury hospitalizations were 2.5 to 3 times higher for children from the lowest income neighbourhoods compared with the highest income neighbourhoods.
Childhood Injury Rates in Manitoba: Socioeconomic Influences, M. Brownell et al., Canadian Journal of Public Health, November/December 2002
In 2000, over 1.2 million people died due to road traffic incidents, making it the world's ninth leading cause of death. In some countries, one of every 10 hospital beds is occupied by a victim of a road traffic crash. Although car ownership is greater in industrialized than developing countries, 90 per cent of all traffic fatalities occurred in low- and middle- income societies. The majority of the victims were pedestrians, cyclists and users of public transportation.
World Health Organization, February 11, 2003
The 2001 census data show that truck driving is Canada's most common occupation, employing more than 263,000 people, 97 per cent of which are men. This is 30 per cent higher than in 1991, representing 4.4 per cent of the growth in the national job market. However, Canada's truck-driving force is rapidly aging. The Canadian Trucking Alliance predicts a shortage of skilled drivers within the next 10 years, as truckers in their 50s leave the busniess.
National Post, February 12, 2003
As many students drive after using cannabis as drive after drinking alcohol according to a study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. The study found that 20 per cent of Ontario students in grades 10 to 13 (OAC) with a driver's licence have driven within one hour of using cannabis, while 15 per cent report driving after drinking. About one-third of all students in grades 7 to 13 (OAC) report being a passenger driven by a driver who had been drinking. The findings raise a number of serious concerns.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, March 3, 2003
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