The Rise of Ride Sharing Companies and Trends in Impaired Driving Accidents.

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1.1. Background Over the last decade, ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft have become a popular transportation option, particularly for young people. These services often market themselves as less expensive and/or safer alternatives to taxis or driving while intoxicated (1). Whether ride sharing has a net benefit on rates of driving while intoxicated, or on alcohol and/or drug related crashes is unclear (2-6). Few studies have investigated this relationship, and a literature review showed no studies targeting the question outside of an isolated geographic region. Additionally, Uber has recently released its Safety Report bringing to light the issue of sexual assault associated with ride sharing.

1.1.2. Aim Investigate the relationship between ride sharing services and alcohol- and drug-related motor vehicle collisions within the state of Texas, and to develop understanding of the relationship between ride sharing services and sexual assault.

1.1.3. Rationale for the study The results of this study may be useful in public health initiatives to either incentivize or discourage ride sharing as a way to impact rates of alcohol- and drug-related motor vehicle collisions. Further, hospitals and insurance payors may be interested to note any calculated effect of ride sharing on hospital costs, lengths of stay, etc.

1.1.4. Hypothesis 1.1.4.1. Primary Hypothesis The introduction of ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft to the state of Texas resulted in fewer alcohol- and drug-related crashes and greater cost savings for hospitals and insurance payors.

1.2. OBJECTIVES AND STUDY OUTCOME MEASURES 1.2.1. Study Objectives 1.2.1.1. Primary Objective(s)

• Determine the number and severity of alcohol- and/or drug-related motor vehicle collisions.
• Determine the number of auto vs pedestrian (auto-ped) alcohol- and/or drug-related collisions.
• Determine the correlation between the introduction of ride sharing services and the number of alcohol- and drug-related crashers as well as with hospital and insurance payor expenditures.
• Determine the relationship between ride sharing services and sexual assault. 1.2.2. Study Outcome Measures 1.2.2.1. Primary Outcomes
• Number of alcohol- and drug-related motor vehicle collisions
• Number of auto-ped alcohol- and drug-related collisions
• Results of alcohol screen and drug screens
• Mechanism of injury
• Metrics indicative of ride sharing service presence, use, and public awareness (i.e. self-reported usage and company reports)
• Additional information collected will include patient demographics, injury characteristics, injury severity score, abbreviated injury scale, emergency department vitals, diagnoses, procedures, insurance coverage, treatment cost, hospital length of stay (LOS), ICU LOS, blood product data, vehicle type, number of sexual assaults, miles traveled, and mortality.

2. STUDY DESIGN This will be a retrospective study with data collected from the trauma registry. We plan to complete the data collection and analysis by 12/31/2021. Data on ride sharing will be obtained from the Uber and Lyft websites. Data pertaining to number of alcohol- and drug-related motor vehicle (and auto-ped) collisions will be obtained from the Texas Department of Transportation website, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC) and the Transformation of Public Transit, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the U.S. Department of Transportation website (or equivalent). Sexual assault data will be obtained as available the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) database as well as from Turning Point Rape Crisis Center and surrounding hospitals in the Dallas area as well as the Uber report for sexual assaults.
3. STUDY ENROLLMENT AND WITHDRAWAL 3.1. Study Inclusion Criteria: