Alcohol use among injured sets of drivers and passengers.
Crash report and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) data were linked for 109 injured driver/passenger pairs admitted to a Level I trauma center. Among those occupants, 47 drivers (43%) (mean BAC, 147 mg/dl) and 45 passengers (41%) (mean BAC, 127 mg/dl) were BAC+. No occupant was BAC+ in 57 crashes (52%); both were BAC+ in 40 (37%); and only one was BAC+ in 12 (11%). When both occupants were BAC+, the driver had the higher BAC in 68% of cases, and when one was BAC+, it was the driver 58% of the time. In 6 additional alcohol-related crashes with one driver and two passengers, the "wrong" occupant was driving on 5 occasions. Hence, in the 58 crashes involving BAC+ occupants, the least appropriate occupant was driving 67% of the time.
Soderstrom
C A
CA
Department of Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore 21201-1595, USA.
Dischinger
P C
PC
Kerns
T J
TJ
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014193:Trauma Centers; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*
D000431:Ethanol