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Citation
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Mehranbod CA, Gobaud AN, Branas CC, Chen Q, Giovenco DP, Humphreys DK, Rundle AG, Bushover BR, Morrison CN. Alcohol Clin. Exp. Res. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub. |
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Abstract
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STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and control measures changed alcohol consumption in the United States (US) and globally. Before the pandemic, alcohol-impaired crashes contributed to around one-third of all road traffic crash injuries and fatalities nationally. We examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on crashes and examined differences in alcohol-involved crashes across various subgroups.
METHODS: University of California Berkeley Transportation Injury Mapping Systems provided information on all crashes reported to the California Highway Patrol for 1/1/2016 to 12/31/2021. Using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models applied to weekly time series data, we estimated the effect of California's first mandatory statewide shelter-in-place order (3/19/2020) on crashes per 100,000 population. We also examined crash subgroups according to crash severity, sex, race/ethnicity, age, and alcohol involvement.
RESULTS: In California, the mean crash rate per week before the pandemic (January 1, 2016 - March 18, 2020) was 9.5 crashes per 100,000 population, and 10.3% of those were alcohol-involved. After the initiation of the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, the percent of crashes that were alcohol-involved rose to 12.7%. Overall, the crash rate across California decreased significantly (-4.6 crashes per 100,000; 95% CI: -5.3, -3.9), including across all examined subgroups, with the greatest decrease among the least severe crashes. However, there was a 2.3% absolute increase in the proportion of crashes that were alcohol-involved (0.02 crashes per 100,000; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.03).
CONCLUSIONS: The initiation of a COVID-19 stay-at-home ordinance in California was associated with a substantial decrease in overall crash rates. While crashes have returned to pre-pandemic levels, alcohol-involved crashes remain elevated. The initiation of the stay-at-home order significantly increased alcohol-impaired driving that then remained elevated.
Keywords: Ethanol impaired driving
Language: en |