Citation

Selzer ML. Behav. Sci. 1969; 14(1): 1-10.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1969, Behavioral Science and the General Systems Science Foundation)

DOI

10.1002/bs.3830140102

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Surviving and deceased drivers responsible for 96 fatal accidents during a 38-month period in Washtenaw County, Michigan, and a like number of matched controls were evaluated to determine the prevalence of alcoholism, psychopathology, and social stress, as well as other medical and social variables. Information was obtained through interviews of the drivers, their relatives, friends, and employers as well as from traffic and arrest records. Thirty-six of the 96 fatality drivers and three control drivers were chronic alcoholics. In addition, 11 fatality drivers and six control drivers were classified as ldquofrequent, high quantity usersrdquo of beverage alcohol as herein defined. The 96-driver fatality group differed significantly in many respects from the control group. However, the magnitude of discrepancy was often due to the presence of the 36 alcoholics in the fatality group.The 96 fatality drivers averaged significantly more previous accidents (1.2 versus 0.8) and moving violations (3.1 versus 1.7) than the control group, exhibited significantly more psychopathology (41 percent versus 17 percent) and social stress (52 percent versus 18 percent), and included more low-social-class persons (76 percent versus 54 percent) and fewer higher-social-class persons (5 percent versus 29 percent) than the control group.The 36 alcoholic fatality drivers were significantly overrepresented in fatal accidents involving only one vehicle and in those occurring at night. In addition, they had significantly more previous accidents, serious psychopathology (69 percent versus 25 percent) and social stress (72 percent versus 42 percent) than the 60 nonalcoholic fatality drivers.