Citation

Soderstrom CA, Ballesteros MF, Dischinger PC, Kerns TJ, Flint RD, Smith GCS. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2001; 33(6): 771-782.

Affiliation

R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore 21201, USA. csoderstrom@umm.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11579979

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between alcohol/drug abuse diagnoses, driving convictions (speeding, reckless driving, impaired driving, license violations), and risk-taking dispositions among a series of injured drivers admitted to a trauma center. The driving records of 778 patients were linked to diagnoses of psychoactive substance use disorders (PSUDs), admission blood alcohol concentration (BAC), mode of injury, and results of a risk-taking disposition survey. Twenty-nine percent of patients had one or more convictions in the 3 years before injury. Types of violation were not related to mode of injury. Although there was a positive association between prior impaired-driving convictions, current alcohol dependence, and a BAC + status, a consistent pattern relative to other violations, PSUDs, and BAC status was not apparent. Risk-taking disposition scale scores indicated that patients without PSUDs and without convictions tended toward less risk-taking behavior than patients with PSUDs and with convictions. The complex inter-relationships between PSUDs, risk-taking dispositions, and being convicted of driving dangerously require additional study so that intervention programs and injury prevention initiatives can be targeted effectively.