Road crash experiences during the fourteenth and fifteenth years of life: an overview.

From a sample of 848 teenagers, 113 individuals had experienced 121 road traffic crashes. Five of the incidents involved a pedestrian, 62 a bicyclist, six a motor cyclist, 47 a motor vehicle passenger and one a motor vehicle driver. Sixty-two percent of the crashes involved injury and 67% vehicle immobilisation. Five of the injured teenagers were admitted to hospital but the majority (55%) were treated at a hospital accident and emergency department and then discharged. The official reporting of the crashes to the Ministry of Transport was examined and the problems of underreporting and biases in reporting are discussed.