Car drivers from a database of road users discharged from the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) between 1 July 2015 and 30 December 2017 following a road crash were analysed in this study. The hospital information was supplemented with details of the crash, obtained from the Police and the road authority. This study focused on those who had a spine injury coded at least 2 on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS2+). This sample is from a single hospital, and there are several likely biases. Results. There were 518 car drivers with one or more AIS2+ injuries, of whom 152 had one or more AIS2+ spine injuries, mostly vertebral fractures. Of these 152, the maximum spine AIS score was 2 for 87%, 3 for 12%, and >3 for 1%. Tables and Figures are provided for characteristics of the spine-injured drivers and their accidents: gender, age group, crash location, speed limit, crash type, impact type, vehicle year, seatbelt use, Injury Severity Score, and days in hospital. Discussion. The biases in the dataset mean that there is no suitable comparison group. Nevertheless, data is given for three groups that provide some context: car drivers with an AIS2+ injury who did not have an AIS2+ spine injury, car drivers who did not have an AIS2+ injury, and a sample from the TARS database. (TARS refers to Traffic Accident Reporting System, that is, the accident reports that originate with the Police.) The hospitalisation characteristics show that this cohort/sample AIS2+ spine injury group is more seriously injured than other AIS2+ injured car drivers.JK Dutschke, TL Lindsay, TP Hutchinson, CF Jone
