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Notice to Readers: Alcohol Involvement in Fatal Motor-Vehicle Crashes
---United States, 1999--2000
The following table compares alcohol involvement in fatal motor-vehicle
crashes by age group and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels for 1999 and 2000. A
fatal crash is considered alcohol-related by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) if either a driver or nonoccupant (e.g., pedestrian) had a
BAC of >0.01 g/dL in a police-reported traffic crash. Because BACs are not available for
all persons in fatal crashes, NHTSA estimates the number of alcohol-related
traffic fatalities on the basis of a discriminant analysis of information from all cases for
which driver or nonoccupant BAC data are available
(1).
Overall during 1999--2000, the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities
increased by 4% (95% confidence interval [CI]=2%--7%). For BACs
>0.10 g/dL (the legal limit for intoxication in most states in 1999 and 2000), fatalities increased by 4% (95%
CI=1%--6%); for BACs of 0.01--0.09 g/dL, fatalities increased by 7% (95% CI=2%--12%).
A broad range of public health and traffic safety strategies will be needed to stem
further increases and reduce the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities
(2).
References
Klein TM. A method for estimating posterior BAC distributions for persons involved
in fatal traffic accidents: final report. Washington, DC: US Department of
Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1986; publication no. DOT-HS-807-094.
Shults RA, Elder RW, Sleet DA, et al. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions
to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. Am J Prev Med 2001;21(4S):66--88.
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