Citation

McBay AJ, Hudson RP, Hamrick N, Beaubier J. J. Saf. Res. 1974; 6(4): 177-181.

Affiliation

McBay, Arthur J.: North Carolina Dept of Human Resources, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Raleigh

Copyright

(Copyright © 1974, U.S. National Safety Council, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine what proportion of the highway fatalities in North Carolina in 1972 could be attributed to alcohol. Reports of fatal crashes during that period and available blood-alcohol data for pedestrian and operator fatalities, and for surviving operators were reviewed. Previous driving records for all operators were also reviewed. It was found that the percentage of operators tested for blood-alcohol varied widely. Surviving operators were seldom tested at all, whereas 63% of operator fatalities in all types of accidents were tested. Operators in single vehicle collisions were more likely to be tested for alcohol impairment than those in multiple vehicle collisions, and operators who died in accidents that also killed passengers had a higher probability of being tested. The percentages of impaired operators of all operators tested and of all operators involved are given for each type of collision. Of pedestrians, 59% were tested for alcohol, and 62% of those tested were impaired. More than half of the drivers involved in fatal accidents have prior violations.