Ambulance Traffic Crashes in Japan: Characteristics of Casualties and Efforts to Improve Ambulance Safety.

Background: An ambulance traffic crash not only leads to injuries among emergency medical service (EMS) professionals but also injures patients or their companions during transportation. We aimed to describe the incidence of ambulance crashes, seating location, seatbelt use for casualties (ie, both fatal and nonfatal injuries), ambulance safety efforts, and to identify factors affecting the number of ambulance crashes in Japan.

Methods: We conducted a nationwide survey of all fire departments in Japan.