Could there also be a correlation with the length of time it requires for medical assistance to reach the victim? Some neighborhoods are difficult to find and giving wrong locations to 911 is common.

Wouldn’t a reason for the uninsured statistic be because that people that live in the city/urban environment have less need of a care, thus no car insurance. There are also more people walking on the streets, and like myself, also more people that jaywalk. So I’m not exactly sure what information pedistrians without insurance that are hit has really any relevance to the issue.

As for ethnic issues, I would guess some of that has to do with waiting time in emergency rooms in urban v. suburban environments would impact the time, too. I didn’t read the study but not taking into account where the accident’s occurred would certain impact the results

I did not read the study, but I believe it refers to the medically uninsured, not people without car insurance. I am certain that minorities and medically uninsured individuals do not receive the same level of medical care as others and although we don’t want to admit it, we know why the disparity exists.

Uninsured victims I assume refers to health insurance, although I believe many auto policies contain coverage for pedestrian injuries. Insofar as uninsured patients probably are screened by, and in many cases receive care from house officers in the hospital, this may contribute to worse outcomes for these patients. In addition, patients taken to hospitals that aren’t trauma centers may do differently than those who are evacuated to designated trauma centers. Tim

If you look for an ethnic correlation in these kinds of statistics, you can always find it. That does not equate with causation or anything helpful. In my urban center, the population is roughly 80% African American–every statistic makes it look like African Americans are disproportionately affected, whether for good or ill, until you look at the underlying demographics. The truth of the matter is that the only color that matters is green. People who live in poor, less served, less accessible environments, urban or rural and regardless of race are and will always be more at risk. That should be part of the motivation to work one’s way out of those environments or to strive to improve them. It is idiotic to attempt to use such out of context statistics to indict the trauma service infrastructure that, overall, responds remarkably well to people of all races and economic levels. Plastering an essentially race-baiting headline across the JHU magazine is both fundamentally racist and a disservice to everyone who cares about safety for all people.