Swift medical response to trauma of any kind is critical to survival. Motorists in the worst car crashes often die immediately or in minutes. But trauma care saves many lives when it arrives quickly. The key is to get victims treatment within the "Golden Hour." The response times described in the chart below are taken from analysis of a sample of 44 percent of all motor vehicle-related trauma responses in Washington State in the period of January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003.
Trauma Unit Response Times
2003
*Urban - an incorporated area over 30,000, or an incorporated or
Unincorporated area of at least 10,000 people and a population
density over 2,000 people per square mile.
**Suburban - an incorporated of unincorporated area with a population
density of 1,000 to 2,000 people per square mile.
***Rural - unincorporated or incorporated areas with total populations
less than 10,000 people, or with a population density of less than
1,000 people per square mile.