A study from the Rand Corporation looked at police car crash injuries, and found that officers sitting in a parked or stationary police car may face a greater risk of injury than if they were cruising around at a low speed.

Of the 854 crashes involving police officers that researchers studied, 30 percent of those resulting in an officer injury occurred when the car was sitting still. About 25 percent of all 854 crashes occurred when the car was idle, whether the officer was injured or not.

Researchers also found that officers are at a higher risk of being injured in a crash if they are driving by themselves and not with a partner, if they are driving a motorcycle rather than a squad car, and if they are responding to a situation with their sirens on rather than driving around on patrol. The speed of a patrol car did not seem to matter in that scenario, just the fact that they had their sirens on significantly increased their risk of injury up to three or four times more than if they had been driving on patrol without sirens.

The author of the study, Tom LaTourrette, says he thinks there are a couple areas where police could change their policies to reduce crashes and injuries. Not utilizing motorcycles as much for police work, and encouraging all officers to use their seat belts whether they are in a moving car or a sitting car.

Police should take this study to heart, but so should all of those people who are out on the road a lot. Whether you’re driving for work, driving to or from work, or just driving around. The study found that just like the general population, police were two to three times more likely to be injured in a crash if they weren’t wearing their seatbelt. To a lot of people it’s easy to wait in the car for your friend and take your seatbelt off, or run to the store quickly and not wear a seatbelt. Remember that even though you aren’t moving or you aren’t going all that far, that doesn’t mean you aren’t still vulnerable.