Current Trends
Premature Mortality due to Alcohol-Related Motor Vehicle
Traffic Fatalities -- United States, 1987
In 1987, an estimated 23,630 persons were killed in
alcohol-related
motor vehicle traffic (MVT) crashes (1). These fatalities accounted
for
an estimated 783,304 years of potential life lost (YPLL) before age
65
(Table 1). Estimates were based on data recorded by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the Fatal Accident
Reporting System (FARS), and they represented 55.3% of all YPLL due
to
MVT crashes. To be included in FARS, an MVT crash--by
definition--had
to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a traffic way customarily
open
to the public and result in a death (of a vehicle occupant,
pedestrian,
pedalcyclist, or nonmotorist) within 30 days. A fatality was
considered
to be alcohol-related if it resulted from an MVT crash involving a
driver, pedestrian, or pedalcyclist (not necessarily the deceased)
with
a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of greater than or equal
to0.01%.
Of the alcohol-related YPLL from MVT crashes, 609,346 (78%)
involved a
driver, pedestrian, or pedalcyclist who was intoxicated
(intoxication
was defined as a BAC of greater than or equal to0.10%). In some
instances, alcohol involvement was not reported and statistical
discriminant analysis was used to estimate alcohol involvement (3).
Males accounted for more than three-quarters of the YPLL due to
alcohol-related and alcohol-intoxication-related MVT crashes. In
1987,
the alcohol-related MVT YPLL rate per 100,000 persons was 366.8.
Males
had an alcohol-related MVT YPLL rate that was 3.4 times that for
females (Table 1).
Reported by: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, US Dept of Transportation.
Epidemiology Br, Biometrics Br, Div of Injury Epidemiology and
Control,
Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: The FARS data system, initiated by NHTSA in 1975,
contains detailed data gathered from multiple sources for all fatal
MVT
crashes in the United States. When compared with vital statistics
data
on MVTs, FARS data offer at least two unique advantages: first,
they
include information on alcohol involvement, seat-belt use, and
vehicle
and crash characteristics, and second, they are available within 6
months after the year of the fatality. Although the FARS definition
of
an MVT fatality differs slightly from that used by the National
Center
for Health Statistics, the counts from the two data systems are
very
similar (within 2%) (4).
FARS data in combination with vital statistics data enable
investigators to estimate the contribution of alcohol-related MVT
fatalities to the total YPLL in the United States from all causes.
In
1986, the most recent year for which complete national vital
statistics
data are available, injuries accounted for 31.9% of all YPLL in the
United States (Figure 1); the predominant cause of the
injury-related
YPLL was MVT injuries. FARS data for 1986 indicate that over half
(56.8%) of the MVT YPLL were alcohol- related, accounting for 6.8%
of
the total YPLL in the United States. Alcohol- intoxication-related
MVT
crashes accounted for 44.5% of all MVT YPLL and 5.3% of the total
YPLL
in the United States.
Since 1982, the first year in which alcohol involvement was
consistently recorded in FARS, the proportion of MVT fatalities
that
were alcohol-related has declined (1). From 1982 through 1987, the
proportion of drivers who were intoxicated at the time of a fatal
crash
decreased 17%. For teenaged drivers in fatal crashes, the
proportion
who were intoxicated declined 34%. Reductions in alcohol
involvement
between 1982 and 1987 occurred under most fatal-crash
circumstances;
however, reductions were relatively greater for teenaged drivers,
females, surviving drivers, teenaged pedestrians, and older
drivers.
Reductions also were relatively greater in daytime crashes. In
contrast, the reduction in alcohol involvement in fatal MVT crashes
was
minimal or nonexistent for drivers aged 25-34, motorcycle drivers,
and
pedestrians aged 20 to 64, and in fatal crashes occurring late at
night.
The proportion of MVT-related crashes involving alcohol may have
been
reduced because of 1) increased public awareness of the problem, 2)
enactment of more stringent laws and increased enforcement
of existing laws by state and local governments, and 3) laws that
raised the drinking age to 21 in all states. Public health workers,
highway safety officials, and medical-care providers should
continue
coordinated efforts to educate the public about this health
problem.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and NHTSA
are
collaborating in a public, private, state, and federal prevention
effort centered around this year's "National Drunk and Drugged
Driving
Awareness Week," December 12-16, 1988.
References
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fatal Accident
Reporting System data tapes, 1982-1987 (separate years).
Washington,
DC: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic
Safety
Administration, 1982-1987.
2.Bureau of the Census. United States population estimates, by age,
sex, and race: 1980 to 1987. Washington, DC: US Department of
Commerce,
Bureau of the Census, 1988. (Current Population Reports; series
P-25,
no. 1022).
3.Fell JC, Klein T. The nature of the reduction in alcohol in US
fatal
crashes. Warrendale, Pennsylvania: Society of Automotive Engineers,
Inc, 1987. (SAE technical paper series 860038).
4.Conn JM. Deaths from motor vehicle-related injuries, 1978-1984.
In:
Public health surveillance of 1990 injury control objectives for
the
nation. CDC surveillance summaries, February 1988. MMWR
1988;37(suppl
SS-1):5-12.
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