Veterans At 'Increased Risk Of Traffic Accidents'

Veterans are more likely to be injured in a road traffic accident than people who have never been in the military, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow looked at 57,000 veterans in Scotland and found that those with the shortest service, including those who had never been deployed, were at the highest risk of being injured in a traffic accident. 

The highest risk was in people in their 30s, irrespective of the time since they had left service, and there was no evidence that the period immediately following discharge was especially risky. 

Lead researcher, Dr Beverly Bergman, Honorary Senior Research Fellow (Public Health), said:

"This is an important study which has confirmed that there has been an increased risk of road traffic accidents in military veterans which is unrelated to deployment, but it is now reducing.

"The high risk in people who have only served for a short time is likely to reflect lifestyle risk factors which are unrelated to their military service."

The veterans in the study were all born between 1945 and 1985 and had a wide range of experience and lengths of service in the Armed Forces over a 50-year period. 

Researchers found that more recent veterans do not appear to be at increased risk, suggesting the Ministry of Defence (MoD) road safety programme is proving effective.

Previous studies have found that risky driving is common among serving personnel and the new research suggests this may persist after leaving the forces.

The report stated:

"The increase in risk in veteran car drivers accords with earlier research showing increased prevalence of risky driving behaviour in serving personnel and suggests that this pattern persists into post-service life."

In 2002, research was published in the US which showed that people who had been deployed to the Gulf had an increased risk of being involved in a road traffic accident on returning home.

Studies in the UK showed British troops were also at increased risk on return from deployment.

In 2006 the MoD introduced a new programme of road safety education in response to growing evidence on both sides of the Atlantic of the increased risk of road traffic accidents in military personnel.

"Future research should be aimed at more in-depth identification of risk factors."

The report by the University of Glasgow said that future research should be aimed at more in-depth identification of risk factors, especially among early service leavers, and monitoring ongoing trends.

The study, which used data from the Scottish Veterans Health Study, is published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention.