Citation

Ross HL. Blutalkohol 1975; 12(6): 372-381.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1975, International Committee on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety and Bund gegen Alkohol und Drogen im Straßenverkehr, Publisher Steintor Verlag)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The study reports the results of an effort to obtain data on blood alcohol concentrations among drivers in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. A search was made in these countries for studies performed on random or representative samples of: drivers fatally injured in crashes; drivers seriously injured in crashes; and drivers not involved in crashes. Only one study, limited to the city of Oslo, was found of drivers not involved in crashes. Sweden and Denmark have produced a scattering of broader but still incomplete studies of fatally injured drivers. A very few small scale studies of seriously injured drivers were found in Sweden and Norway. Finland has produced no systematic studies on these topics. With some consistency the studies of fatally injured drivers suggest that elevated blood alcohol concentrations are less common in Sweden and Denmark than in the United States. The lone study of drivers not involved in crashes finds an extremely low prevalence of blood alcohol concentrations, in broad international context. However, the studies of injured drivers are not completely in accord with the picture based on the other populations. Although one can speculate that alcohol may be less prominent in motor vehicle crashes in Scandinavian countries than in many other countries, it is improper to infer without further information that the Swedish and Norwegian laws have produced this result.