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Abstract
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This is a preliminary report of a study being conducted in Canada on the role played by alcohol in fatal motor vehicle crashes.
Motor vehicle injury is the most important health problem in our community today. We have the added concern in Canada that our crash rate and our mortality and morbidity rates from this cause are increasing annually. In 1966, there were 5,262 Canadians killed in motor vehicle crashes and 161,000 injured. These figures are roughly comparable to those for the United States but our crash rate is increasing by 10 per cent per year during the past ten years, whereas the rate in the United States is slowly decreasing.
When the Traffic Injury Research Foundation was formed about four years ago, in a belated response to recognition of this serious community problem, we attempted to define the problem and to find what information pertinent to it had been collected. We were appalled at the lack of statistically valid data, especially in our own country. We recognized the value and proven usefulness of crash injury research, the need for improved first aid, for improved ambulance services, emergency care and even definitive treatment. |