title: Did Amendments to the Ontario Highway Traffic Act in 2009-2010 Affect the Proportion of Alcohol-Related Motor Vehicle Collisions Seen at a Level I Trauma Centre over a 10-year Period?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if changes to the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (OHTA) in 2009 and 2010 had an effect on the proportion of alcohol-related motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) presenting to a trauma centre over a 10-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review of the trauma registry at a Level I trauma centre in southwestern Ontario was undertaken. The trauma registry is a database of all trauma patients with an injury severity score (ISS) ≥12 and/or who had trauma team activation. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Interrupted time series analyses with ARIMA modeling were performed on quarterly data from 2004-2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 377 drivers with a detectable serum ethanol concentration (SEC) were treated at our trauma centre over the 10-year period, representing 21% of all MVCs. The majority (330; 88%) were male. The median age was 31 years, median SEC was 35.3 mmol/L, and median ISS was 21. A total of 29 (7.7%) drinking drivers died from their injuries after arriving to hospital. There was no change in the proportion of drinking drivers after the 2009 amendment, but there was a significant decline in the average SEC of drinking drivers after changes to the law. There was no difference in the proportion of drinking drivers ≤21 years after introduction of the 2010 amendment for young and novice drivers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a significance decline in the average SEC of all drinking drivers after the 2009 OHTA amendment, suggesting that legislative amendments may have an impact on drinking before driving behaviour.
authors: *Division of Emergency Medicine.
authors: Meghan
authors: M
authors: Garnett
authors: †Trauma Program,Department of Surgery.
authors: Tanya
authors: T
authors: Charyk Stewart
authors: ‡Department of Paediatrics,Western University.
authors: Michael R
authors: MR
authors: Miller
authors: ‡Department of Paediatrics,Western University.
authors: Rodrick
authors: R
authors: Lim
authors: *Division of Emergency Medicine.
authors: Kristine
authors: K
authors: Van Aarsen
authors: *Division of Emergency Medicine.
authors: Wanda
authors: W
authors: Millard
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014193:Trauma Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: alcohol drinking; driving under the influence; emergency medicine; ethanol; legislation; motor vehicles