Citation

Fell JC. Am. Assoc. Automot. Med. Q. J. 1982; 4(4): 31-38.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1982, American Association for Automotive Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The involvement of alcohol continues to be a major problem in motor vehicle collisions in this country. A 1978 state-of-the-art review made estimates of the percent of fatal injury producing and property damage crashes that are alcohol-involved based upon several individual localized studies. With the recent maturity of the Fatal Accident Reporting System and National Accident Sampling System, more up to date estimates of the alcohol problem can be made. This paper presents some estimates of alcohol involvement in all types of crashes based upon these two national systems and other more recent research into the subject. The bottom line is that we may have been underestimating alcohol involvement in collisions of all severities. The latest statistics indicate that alcohol may be involved in 50-55 percent of injury-producing crashes, and 5-8 percent of property-damage crashes. These figures translate into an enormous amount of fatalities, pain, suffering, and property destruction, not to mention the associated economic drain.