title: [Alcohol and street traffic (critical comments from the legal and traffic medicine viewpoint)].
abstract: 1. Our official traffic statistics in general and in regard to the problem "alcohol and road traffic security" is not reliable enough. It contains too many unaccounted factors, so that an objective reorganisation and supplement is badly needed. The present statistics is not suited to show the real dimension and the actual danger of the effects of "alcohol in traffic", especially in connection with relatively low blood-alcohol-concentration. 2. In connection with the problem "alcohol and road traffic" the Federal Republic of Germany is able to develop, by way of law, significant epidemiological research, which, so far, has been neglected. 3. Danger and frequency of low and high blood-alcohol-concentration in road traffic participants are collectively in inverse ratio: The larger group of the less dangerous road traffic participants with low blood-alcohol-concentration does not necessarily cause less damage, than the smaller group of the more dangerous ones with high blood-alcohol-concentration. 4. From the legal and traffic medical point of view the reaching and exceeding of the abstract promille limit of 0.8 shoudl be considered a violation within the meaning of penal law and should be connected with the loss of the driver's license. This was put up for discussion by Spiegel (1989). Such a legal measure would lead to a consequent and successful general and specific prevention. There should be initiated supportive side effects as for example discrimination of the drunken driver and permanent education concerning the effects of alcohol on traffic safety. 5. It seems reasonable to set the limit as low as possible, however, only if there is an sufficient police control to make it effective. 6. The concept "absolute driving incapability" has an extreme confidential value and will surely not result in any disadvantages, however, its preventive reaction is not sufficient. There is no need for this concept any more, if an abstract danger limit is connected with appropriate sanctions for an offense and with the withdrawal of the driver's license. 7. In many cases it is not without problem to assess evidence for characterizing a precise (relative) driving incapability. The valuation of driving incapability could be restricted to a blood-alcohol-concentration range between the threshold of 0.3 promille and the danger limit of 0.8 promille, if point 4. were put into action. The fact that low blood-alcohol-concentration leads to an increased frequency of minor mistakes, while relative high blood-alcohol-concentration is characterized by typical kinds of mistakes, makes the judgement of driving incapability more difficult.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Rechtsmedizin der Universität Bonn.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Heifer
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000401:mortality*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death; D000431:Ethanol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D005860:Germany, West; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
vernacular_title: Alkohol und Strassenverkehr (Kritische Erörterungen aus rechts- und verkehrsmedizinischer Sicht).