Impact of motor vehicle injury in Taiwan using potential productive years of life lost.

Motor vehicle injuries are a major harmful side effect of industrialization. We examine this relationship in a rapidly industrializing country, Taiwan, using Potential Productive Years of Life Lost (PPYLL) analysis, and suggest ways that the injury toll of industrialization might be mitigated. We also compare Taiwan to the US, Hungary, Korea, and Chile. Taiwan has a higher PPYLL per 100,000 population due to motor vehicle injury (530/100,000) than cardiac disease, cancer, or strokes. Twenty-five years ago, more PPYLL was due to cancer, strokes, cardiac disease, and tuberculosis than to motor vehicle injuries (106/100,000). Taiwan's PPYLL rate is much greater than three other industrializing countries--Chile, Korea, and Hungary--and twice that of the US. Explanations for the dramatic rise in motor vehicle injury deaths in Taiwan may be high use of motorcycles, lack of motorcycle helmets, increase in alcohol use, high care density, and road and vehicle safety design problems.