| Article ID: | iaor19971927 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Volume: | 28 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Start Page Number: | 111 |
| End Page Number: | 114 |
| Publication Date: | Jan 1996 |
| Journal: | Accident Analysis and Prevention |
| Authors: | Soderstrom Carl A., Dischinger Patricia C., Kerns Timothy J. |
| Keywords: | accidents, transportation: road, Transportation: Road |
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, 147mg/dl) and 45 passengers (41%) (mean BAC, 127mg/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.