Research Christmas 2019: Chasing Cars

The need for speed: observational study of physician driving behaviors

André Zimerman, Christopher Worsham, Jaemin Woo, et al

BMJ 2019; 367: l6354 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l6354 (Published 18 December 2019)

Abstract

Objective 目的

To determine whether fast driving, luxury car ownership, and leniency by police officers differ across medical specialties.

确定不同医学专业间超速行驶、拥有豪车情况以及受到警察宽恕的情况是否存在差异

Design 试验设计

Observational study.

观察性研究

Setting 场景

Florida, USA.

美国佛罗里达州

Participants 研究人群

5372 physicians and a sample of 19 639 non-physicians issued a ticket for speeding during 2004-17.

2004年-2017年间得到超速行驶罚单的5372名医生及19639名非医生。

Main outcome measures 主要预后指标

Observed rates of extreme speeding (defined as driving >20 mph above the speed limit), luxury car ownership, and leniency of the speeding ticket by police officers, by physician specialty, after adjustment for age and sex.

针对性别与年龄校正后，医生不同专业间极度超速（定义为超过行驶速度上线> 20 mph）、拥有豪车情况以及警察对超速罚单的宽恕情况比例。

Results 结果

The sample included 5372 physicians who received 14 560 speeding tickets. The proportion of drivers who were reported driving at speeds greater than 20 mph was similar between physicians and a sample of 19 639 non-physicians who received a ticket for speeding (26.4% v 26.8% of tickets, respectively). Among physicians who received a ticket, psychiatrists were most likely to be fined for extreme speeding (adjusted odds ratio of psychiatry compared with baseline specialty of anesthesia 1.51, 95% confidence interval 1.07 to 2.14). Among drivers who received a ticket, luxury car ownership was most common among cardiologists (adjusted proportion of ticketed cardiologists who owned a luxury car 40.9%, 95% confidence interval 35.9% to 45.9%) and least common among physicians in emergency medicine, family practice, pediatrics, general surgery, and psychiatry (eg, adjusted proportion of luxury car ownership among family practice physicians 20.6%, 95% confidence interval 18.2% to 23.0%). Speed discounting, a marker of leniency by police officers in which ticketed speed is recorded at just below the threshold at which a larger fine would otherwise be imposed, was common, but rates did not differ by specialty and did not differ between physicians and a sample of non-physicians.

样本包括5372名医生共收到14 560个超速行驶罚单。报告超速20 mph的医生比例与19 639名接到超速罚单的非医生相似 (分别为超速行驶罚单的26.4% v 26.8%)。在接到超速行驶罚单的医生中，精神科医生最容易因极度超速而被罚款 (与麻醉科医生相比，精神科医生校正后比数比为 1.51, 95% 可信区间 1.07 to 2.14)。在接到罚单的医生中，心内科医生拥有豪车最多 (接到超速行驶罚单的心内科医生校正后拥有豪车的比例为 40.9%, 95% 可信区间 35.9% to 45.9%)，急诊科医生、家庭医生、儿科医生、普通外科医生以及精神科医生最少 (例如，校正后家庭医生拥有豪车的比例为 20.6%, 95% 可信区间 18.2% to 23.0%)。 超速扣减，即罚单中记录的行驶速度刚好低于更大罚款数额限度，是警察对超速行驶作出宽恕的标志。这一比例在不同医生专业以及医生与非医生之间并无显著差异。

Conclusions 结论

Rates of extreme speeding were highest among psychiatrists who received a ticket, whereas cardiologists were the most likely to be driving a luxury car when ticketed. Leniency by police officers was similar across specialties and between physicians and non-physicians.

接到超速行驶罚单的精神科医生极度超速行驶的比例最高，而接到罚单的心内科医生拥有豪车的比例最高。不同专业医生以及医生与非医生间警察对超速行驶宽恕的比例相似。