Road Traffic Suicide in Switzerland

Abstract

Objective: To determine details of road traffic suicides in Switzerland between 2000 and 2010 and to look at our results in relation to studies from other countries.

Methods: Retrospective data analysis of road traffic suicides extracted from the database of all suicides investigated by Swiss institutes of forensic medicine between 2000 and 2010 using a standardized assessment sheet.

Results: Out of 4,885 suicides in Switzerland, we identified 76 cases (1.56%) of road traffic suicide. Twenty-three cases had to be excluded because, although the forensic medical experts suspected suicide, they could not establish it for sure. That left 53 cases (1.02% of all suicides), mostly unmarried men, who were on average 9 years younger than the study population as a whole. Most collided with other vehicles, mainly other cars, and usually on main highways or country roads. In most cases, the cause of death was multiple injuries. Other persons were killed 4 times more often than with other suicide methods. Toxicology screening was performed significantly more frequently than with other methods but more often proved negative. Acute psychiatric problems were commonly assumed to be the underlying reasons. Suicide notes were left by only 20%, a lower proportion than in the study population as a whole.

Conclusions: Road traffic suicides account for approximately 1% of all suicide methods used in Switzerland, although unclassifiable cases indicate that the rate might be higher. Every road traffic crash should therefore be routinely investigated by an interdisciplinary team and suicide should be considered as the possible cause.

Keywords:

• motor vehicle
• self-harm
• driver suicide
• collision
• Swiss
• forensic
• SNSF

Acknowledgments

We thank the directors of the following institutes of legal and forensic medicine in Switzerland for granting access to their case archives: Institute of Forensic Medicine, Bern; Institute of Forensic Medicine, Basel; Institute of Forensic Medicine, St. Gallen; Institute of Pathology and Forensic Medicine in Graubünden; Institute of Forensic Medicine, Zurich; and Centre universitaire romand de médecine légale in Geneva and Lausanne. We also thank Dr. Meryl Clarke for linguistic improvement of the article and her critical comments.