Insurance industry leaders have taken notice that thousands of returning war veterans have experienced increased stress, with a growing percentage at fault after being involved in a car accident. Erratic driving by veterans has been recently identified as a symptom of traumatic brain injury.

According to a recent review, car accidents in which veterans were involved increased by 13 percent for those deployed in an overseas tour of duty from 2007 to 2010. The insurance industry and the armed services are working to create educational groups and conduct further research. Statistics show that 48 soldiers died in car accidents last year, the highest number in the past three years.

The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Pentagon have cooperatively launched a seven-session program, along with clinical trials, for veterans returning from deployment. The focus of the program is on educating the soldiers as to why they are triggered to display overly defensive or dangerously aggressive driving that could cause a car accident.

The highest percentages fell with the veterans of the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. However, unique circumstances surrounded veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan. Soldiers, including those from Kentucky, were trained to drive closer to the middle of the road because of fears of roadside bombs. Other veterans reported constantly combing the roadside for danger, or speeding up at intersections in an effort to avoid gunfire.

Although incidents of problematic driving dropped among veterans home longer than six months, the dangers and anxieties associated with war and driver training during the insurgency could still present themselves occasionally for veterans back on domestic roadways.

Source; New York Times, "Back from war, fear and danger fill driver's seat" James Dao, Jan. 10, 2012