Citation

Clayton AB, Colgan MA, Tunbridge RJ. Proc. Int. Counc. Alcohol Drugs Traffic Safety Conf. 2000; 2000: -p..

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, The author(s) and the Council, Publisher International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

As countermeasures against drink driving achieve success, so the relative importance of the problem of drinking pedestrians tends to increase. The results from three linked studies are presented. A survey in Cardiff interviewed and breath tested 1,663 adult pedestrians at five sites during the time 1700 to 2359. The incidence of drinking pedestrians (BAC > 0.09g/L) rose from 4% at 1700 to 71% at 2300. Controlling for time of day, the incidence was largely unrelated to age, sex or socio-economic group. A study of injured pedestrians in Cardiff found that 46% of those tested for alcohol had BACs above 0.09g/L and 32% had BACs over 1.5g/L. Control data obtained from roadside interviewing of non-accident-involved pedestrians was used to produce relative accident risks. For BACs above 2.0g/L, the relative accident risk was more than 20 times that for a pedestrian at 0g/L. A study of fatally injured adult pedestrians in the West Midlands found slightly lower incidences of alcohol (33% above 0.09g/L and 22% over 1.5g/L). More males than females had been drinking and their BACs were higher. The relative accident risks were comparable to those found for non-fatally injured pedestrians in Cardiff. The implications of these findings are assessed.