NCJ Number
168272
Date Published
1995
Length
182 pages
Annotation
This report presents information and data from a study of alcohol use by persons fatally injured in motor vehicle accidents on or off public highways in Canada.
Abstract
Data were obtained from police information on the characteristics of the victims and details of the fatal motor vehicle accidents; coroners' and medical examiners' files yielded toxicological data from body fluid samples (mostly blood) on alcohol use by victims. The focus of the report is on alcohol in fatally injured drivers, because this group of road users is of greatest interest to traffic safety officials, and the rate of testing for alcohol is consistently higher among drivers than among other groups of road users. A secondary focus is on alcohol in fatally injured pedestrians, because walking on or by highways after drinking is risky, and the testing for alcohol, especially among those over 16 years old, is reasonably high. The report contains general descriptive information on the frequency and quantity of alcohol found in drivers and pedestrians fatally injured in motor vehicle collisions in Canada during 1995, as well as trends in alcohol detected among fatally injured operators of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, vans, and tractor- trailers, along with fatally injured pedestrians. Data on alcohol use by fatally injured drivers are presented separately for each Province and Territory. General descriptive information on the incidence of alcohol use among fatally injured drivers is first presented, followed by an analysis of trends in alcohol use among fatally injured automobile drivers. An historical overview of the Fatality Database Project and a more detailed description of the project design are appended. Extensive figures and tables