Citation

Zylman R. Accid. Anal. Prev. 1974; 6(2): 163-204.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1974, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Numbers describing alcohol-involvement in annual traffic death tolls, e.g. 27.000-35.000. are exaggerated because studies have been misinterpreted, misread and sometimes misrepresented. Every study of alcohol-involvement in fatal crashes is biased because of incomplete data which show a higher proportion of heavy drinkers than would be found if all victims could be tested. Based on presently available data and allowing for differences in exposure (e.g. child pedestrians are more likely to die in the daytime and therefore less likely to be killed by a drunk) and for the likelihood that not all intoxicated victims are responsible for their own death and that the majority of sober victims killed are responsible for their own death, it is estimated that no more than 36 per cent of all traffic deaths involve alcohol in some causal fashion rather than 50 per cent or more. Eventually, when non-responsible victims under 20 or over 60 yr old. and those killed in multivehicle crashes in the daytime are as likely to be tested as those who are responsible for their crash. between 20 and 60 and killed in single vehicle crashes at night, the proportion of traffic deaths causally related to alcohol may be on the order of 30 per cent. A method for learning about alcohol involvement in surviving drivers is described.