Citation

Everest JT, Lynam DA. Proc. Int. Counc. Alcohol Drugs Traffic Safety Conf. 1993; 1993: 866-878.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, The author(s) and the Council, Publisher International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper uses British data on drinking drivers to compare the characteristics of modest drinkers, with blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) below the legal limit of 80mg/100ml, and two groups of heavier drinkers, with BACs of 80 to 150mg/100ml and BACs over 150mg/100ml. The different data sets used have a non-uniform structure, reflecting the constraints and requirements of their collection; they describe different aspects of drink/driving, and provide useful comparison. Trends for fatal and injury accidents are emphasised, but information is also included from hospital casualty and police prosecution records and roadside surveys. In 1990, 29.4% of fatally injured car and taxi drivers in Great Britain had BAC above 9mg/100ml; in this group, 63% had BACs over 80mg/100ml, 44% had BACs over 150mg/100ml, and 28% had BACs above 200mg/100ml. Proportions of drinkers and heavy drinkers among killed drivers fell significantly during the 1980s. Graphs are presented for the age distributions of driver fatalities, drivers involved in injury accidents, and drivers whose breath was tested by the roadside, in relation to drink and driving. A table gives statistics about the mean BACs and % fatalities for the three groups of drinkers, for different occupation groups.