NCJ Number
126926
Journal
Journal of Adolescent Health Care Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1989) Pages: 119-121
Date Published
1989
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Although there is a disproportionately high accident rate among adolescent drivers due to inexperience, alcohol appears to play a significant role in this number one killer for the age group. To evaluate this phenomena, the level of blood alcohol was measured in adolescents admitted to a trauma center following vehicular injuries.
Abstract
Eighty-six patients admitted to the Charlotte Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (North Carolina) from July 1985 to December 1986 were studied. The patients were aged 16-21, 65 of them were male and 21 female. Eight died during the study; all were grouped by method of injury and 50 were assessed for blood alcohol content (BAC). Of these 50, 27 (23 males and 4 females) had measurable BAC's, 19 of them above the legal limit including 5 of the 6 pedestrians who were admitted. The study seemed to support an earlier claim that responsibility for injury more often lay with the pedestrian than with the motorist and also to support legal restrictions on alcohol purchase and possession by adolescents and BAC testing on all such injured adolescents. 4 tables and 9 references (Author abstract modified)