Pechansky & Chandran [Pechansky F., Chandran A. Why don't northern American solutions to drinking and driving work in southern America? Addiction 2012; 107: 1201-6.] have provided a thoughtful call-to-action to address drunk driving in South America. The authors provide evidence that drunk driving is a substantial and possibly increasing problem in South America, and contrast the status of the issue there with that in Canada and the United States. They then propose an insightful, three-pronged strategy to address the problem that, if implemented, promises to have a major impact on drunk-driving deaths, injuries and collisions. Their recommendations take on added urgency when the projected large increases in collision-related deaths in the developing world are considered. In the same way that we take action to avert the devastating effects of new infectious diseases, we should be preparing for concerted efforts to address the projected increases in alcohol-related and other collision deaths that can be expected in the near future. The course of action proposed by the authors for Brazil and other parts of South America would also save many lives in other parts of the world. (Author/publisher)
Abstract