Alcohol and fatal road accidents: estimates of risk in Australia 1983 (original) (raw)
Related papers
The contribution of alcohol to work-related road crashes in New South Wales
About 30% of cars in Australia are used by businesses and about 60% of new "upper medium" size cars are sold to businesses. Work-related travel accounts for about one-third of all travel (more than half if commuting is included). Given these figures, it is not surprising that road crashes are the most common form of work-related death in Australia. Work-related crashes account for 6% of all road fatalities, rising to 7% if commuting deaths are included. Illegal levels of alcohol (exceeding 0.05%) are commonly found in about one-fifth to one-quarter of all drivers killed in road crashes in Australia. Yet little is known about the contribution of alcohol to work-related road crashes. The ability of crash data analyses to answer this question depends on being able to identify work-related driving and being able to identify the level of alcohol present. Both issues present problems. This paper reports completed analyses of a dataset produced by the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority that allows fleet-registered vehicles in crashes to be identified. The analyses examine the involvement of alcohol in these crashes and the potential influences of the temporal patterns of driving, vehicle characteristics and driver characteristics.
Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2015
The associations between population-level alcohol consumption and fatal injuries have been examined in a number of previous studies, but few have considered the external impacts of major policy interventions. This study aims to quantify the associations between per capita alcohol consumption and traffic and nontraffic injury mortality rates in Australia before and after major traffic safety initiatives (the introduction of compulsory seat belt legislation [CSBL] and random breath testing [RBT] in 1970s). Using data from 1924 to 2006, gender- and age-specific traffic and nontraffic mortality rates (15 years and above) were analyzed in relation to per capita alcohol consumption using time series analysis. The external effects of policy interventions were measured by inserting a dummy variable in the time series models. Statistically significant associations between per capita alcohol consumption and both types of fatal injuries were found for both males and females. The results sugges...
Alcohol-related risk of driver fatalities: an update using 2007 data
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2012
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the relative risk of being involved in an alcohol-related crash has changed over the decade from 1996 to 2007, a period during which there has been little evidence of a reduction in the percentage of all fatal crashes involving alcohol. We compared blood-alcohol information for the 2006 and 2007 crash cases (N = 6,863, 22.8% of them women) drawn from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) with control blood-alcohol data from participants in the 2007 U.S. National Roadside Survey (N = 6,823). Risk estimates were computed and compared with those previously obtained from the 1996 FARS and roadside survey data. Although the adult relative risk of being involved in a fatal alcohol-related crash apparently did not change from 1996 to 2007, the risk for involvement in an alcohol-related crash for underage women has increased to the point where it has become the same as that for underage men. Further, the risk that sober underag...
Estimating the Effect of Alcohol on Driver Risk Using Only Fatal Accident Statistics
1999
Because many fatal crashes involve more than one vehicle, the actual fraction of drinking drivers involved in these crashes is lower than the values cited above. Overall, roughly 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes have been drinking, with that percentage rising to 50 percent during peak alcohol usage times. 2 There is also survey data asking drivers whether they have driven when they have "had too much to drink" (Liu et al 1997). In addition to any question about the accuracy of the responses given, these surveys have not attempted to ask drivers to report the percentage of miles driven with and without the influence of alcohol. Without that number, accurate estimates of the elevated risk of drinking drivers cannot be computed.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2018
Using data from 2013-2014, this article aims to update alcohol-related fatal crash relative risk estimates, defined as the risk of dying in those crashes at different blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) relative to the risk of dying in a crash when sober (BAC = .00 g/dl), and to examine any change in risk that could have taken place between 2007 and 2013-2014. More specifically, we examine changes in risk among BAC = .00 g/dl drivers and among BAC > .00 g/ dl drivers. Method: We matched and merged crash data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and exposure data from the National Roadside Survey (NRS). To the matched database we applied logistic regression to estimate the changes in relative risk. Results: We found that among sober (BAC = .00 g/dl) drivers, the risk of dying in a fatal crash decreased between 2007 and 2013-2014. For drinking drivers, however, no parallel reduction in the overall contribution of alcohol to the fatal crash risk occurred. Compared with 2007, in 2013-2014 the oldest group of drivers (age ≥ 35 years) were at an elevated crash risk when driving at low BACs (.00 g/dl < BAC < .02 g/dl). Conclusions: Although the decrease in crash risk for drivers with a BAC of .00 g/dl is encouraging, the consistency of the alcohol-related risk estimates over the last two decades suggests the need to substantially strengthen current efforts to abate drinking and driving.
2007
The incidence of alcohol and illicit drug-related crashes continues to represent a significant road safety concern in Victoria. The advent of the random drug testing program to complement long- running breath test operations highlights the high degree of priority placed on addressing this issue. There is however limited information concerning the individual characteristics of those driving with alcohol and other drugs in their system. Using the National Coroners Information System (NCIS), the aim was to explore person-based characteristics of those killed. The Victorian Road Crash Information System was used to supplement and add value to these observations. From our sample of 2004 cases, 97 drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians were identified as returning a positive toxicology finding for alcohol and / or another drug. Notably, 49% of these tested positive to alcohol followed by ∆9-THC (20%), and amphetamines (9%). Poly drug use was relatively common. Those killed were predominan...
Crime Prevention and Community Safety
This study aimed to explore how specific situational variables (remoteness, speed zones, days of the week, hours of the day) and risk factors (risky behaviours and road-related conditions) might influence the comparative likelihood and severity of alcohol-related crashes (ARCs). Vehicle crash data (N = 63,226) were analysed and included the details of crashes between 2015 and 2019. In comparison to non-ARCs, ARCs were up to two times more likely to occur in rural areas and on weekdays, and two to four times more likely in the late evening and early morning (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.). In addition, risky road conditions and driving behaviours were found to significantly increase both ARC likelihood and severity, with some factors (e.g., speeding) increasing fatality risk by up to nine times. Overall, this study highlights the specific risks associated with drink driving and highlights situational factors that may increase crash risk.
Alcohol intoxication in drivers in road traffic accidents and violations
Alcoholism and psychiatry research, 2013
INTRODUCTIONRoad traffic injuries have become a global developmental and health issue. The likelihood of accidents in general and accidents with fatal outcomes may depend on a large number of factors. Some among these are the condition of roads, the number of vehicles on the roads, population size, population density, economic situation,1"2 the percentage of young drivers3 in traffic, while some relate to the characteristics of the drivers and the manner of driving. Thus, the researchers found out that the economic growth results in the increase of the number of registered vehicles,1"2 i e. vehicles that are in use and consequently in a larger number of road accidents. With regard to road accidents with fatal outcome, some authors observed their decrease and others increase2 linked to the economic growth. Bener and Crundall4 conclude that the number of accidents with fatal outcome decreases with the growth of the number of vehicle owners. They associate it with the lower n...
Effects of Alcohol on the Geographic Variation of Driver Fatalities in Motor Vehicle Crashes
Academic Emergency Medicine, 2000
Objective: To determine whether the increased risk of dying in a rural vs nonrural motor vehicle crash (MVC) can be attributed to driver demographics, crash characteristics, or police-reported alcohol use. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, comparing all rural (116,242) and a 20% random sample of nonrural (104,197) Michigan drivers involved in an MVC during 1994-1996. Data consisted of all police-reported traffic crashes on public roadways. A logistic regression model was created, using survival as the dependent variable and gender, age, crash characteristics, and rural or nonrural county as independent variables. Driver alcohol use, as reported by the investigating officer, was introduced into the model, and the effect was analyzed. Results: Nonsurvivors represented 0.2% of the total; 99.8% were survivors. Police-reported alcohol use was reported for 3.9% of drivers. Drivers in rural MVCs were more likely to be male, to be more than 50 years of age, to have been drinking alcohol, and to have more severe vehicle deformation as a result of the MVC. The relative risk (RR) for MVC nonsurvivors was 1.69 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.3 to 2.1] times higher for drivers in rural than nonrural counties. After adjusting for demographic and crash characteristics, the RR was 1.56 (95% CI = 1.2 to 1.9). Controlling for alcohol and its interactions decreased the RR to 1.26 (95% CI = 0.6 to 2.4), a nonsignificant difference between rural and nonrural MVC mortalities. Conclusions: Alcohol use by drivers in Michigan was a significant contributor for nonsurvivors of rural crashes. Efforts to decrease rural MVC mortality must address alcohol use.