title: Effectiveness of bans and laws in reducing traffic deaths: legalized Sunday packaged alcohol sales and alcohol-related traffic crashes and crash fatalities in New Mexico.
abstract: We determined the relative risk of alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents and fatalities after New Mexico lifted its ban on Sunday packaged alcohol sales. We extracted all alcohol-related crashes from New Mexico police reports for 3652 days between July 1, 1990, and June 30, 2000, and found a 29% increase in alcohol-related crashes and a 42% increase in alcohol-related crash fatalities on Sundays after the ban on Sunday packaged alcohol sales was lifted. There was an estimated excess of 543.1 alcohol-related crashes and 41.6 alcohol-related crash fatalities on Sundays after the ban was lifted. Repealing the ban on Sunday packaged alcohol sales introduced a public health and safety hazard in New Mexico.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Health Research Center of the Southwest, Albuquerque, NM 87102, USA.
authors.forename: Garnett P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: McMillan
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lapham
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002910:Chronology as Topic; D003132:Commerce / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D009516:New Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011634:Public Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D011640:Public Policy; D012306:Risk; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012449:Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance