The post-mortem reports on 374 victims of road traffic accidents who died within 12 hours of the accident in December, 1966, and December, 1967, have been scrutinized and the injuries thought to have been the immediate cause of death correlated with the time taken to die. The investigation suggests that if the present estimated time between the accident and the arrival of an ambulance could be halved, there might be a small saving of no more than 1·5 per cent of the casualties dying within 12 hours. It seems possible that a rather larger number, say 3 per cent, might be saved by prompt and effective first-aid treatment by people already present.
The figures on which the report is based represent a rather small sample. They may be seasonally biased and should be regarded as provisional.