Citation

Fell JC. Traffic Injury Prev. 2014; 15(5): 431-433.

Affiliation

Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation , Calverton , Maryland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15389588.2013.838230

PMID

24215097

Abstract

This analysis is an update of a Traffic Tech published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in March 1992. Drivers with prior driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) convictions are overrepresented in fatal crashes and the relative risk of fatal crash involvement is greater for these repeat DWI offenders. Although it is estimated that 2.1% of licensed drivers had a prior arrest for DWI within the past three years in 2010, 8.0% of intoxicated drivers (blood alcohol concentration [BAC] ≥ .08 g/dL) involved in fatal crashes had at least one prior DWI conviction in the past 3 years during that same year. Drivers with prior DWI convictions are overrepresented in fatal crashes by a factor of 1.62, or are 62% more likely to be in a fatal crash. Similarly, drivers with prior DWI convictions are also overrepresented as drinking drivers in fatal crashes: those with low BACs (.01-.07) by a factor of 2.38 and those with high BACs (.08+) by a factor of 3.81. While repeat DWI offenders are at a substantially higher risk of fatal crash involvement, the vast majority of intoxicated drivers in fatal crashes do not have a DWI conviction in the past three years (11 out of 12) according to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) records for the year 2010.

Language: en