Are Uninsured Drivers Less Likely to Request Emergency Medical Services after a Single-Vehicle Crash?

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are found to be effective in dealing with injuries caused by traffic crashes, especially for severe crashes. However, some people may tend not to call the EMS after crashes for various reasons. According to the Alabama crash reports in 2017, over 10% of injured drivers declined to contact EMS. Auto insurance status could be the factor that influences the decision-making of EMS requests. The study aims to uncover the correlates of EMS requests, focusing on the role of auto insurance using 2017 single-vehicle crash records in Alabama. This study performs a comparative analysis of crashes that caused different levels of damage. Considering the unobserved heterogeneity, this study employs a random-parameter modeling approach to disentangle the relationships between factors. The model indicates that drivers with valid auto insurance appear to be less likely to request EMS after minor vehicle damage crashes. In contrast, for crashes that caused major vehicle damages, there is no significant correlation between EMS requests and auto insurance status. Other important factors, such as vehicle registration status, driver’s license status, driving under impairment, and seatbelt use, are also found to be related to EMS requests. The results could offer researchers and traffic incident responders an understanding of the relationship between EMS requests and crash-related factors, providing a scientifically based approach to developing effective strategies to reduce the fatality rate of crashes. Besides, medical facilities may cooperate with auto insurance companies to develop an insurance-based response system in responding to uninsured crashes with diversified plans.