This report presents estimates of alcohol involvement in fatal traffic crashes that occurred during 1998. Several comparisons of alcohol involvement for the period 1982-1998 are presented to illustrate changes and trends. The data are abstracted from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and represent a combination of actual blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test results and estimated BAC distributions for those drivers and nonoccupants for whom no BAC test results are available. The estimates are made using a model developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 1998, 30 percent of all traffic fatalities involved at least one driver or nonoccupant with BAC of 0.10 or greater (in this report, a BAC of 0.10 or greater is synonymous with intoxication). This represents a reduction of 35 percent from 1982, when 46 percent of all fatalities occurred in crashes that involved an intoxicated active participant. Occupant fatalities resulting from crashes involving an intoxicated driver or nonoccupant totaled 10,294 in 1998. Less than one-half (40 percent) of the fatalities in single-vehicle crashes involved an intoxicated driver or nonoccupant, compared with 19 percent of the fatalities in multi-vehicle crashes. An estimated 36 percent of the fatalities in nonoccupant crashes involved an intoxicated driver or nonoccupant. Almost two-thirds (66 percent) of the fatally injured drivers in single-vehicle fatal crashes on weekend nights were drunk. Overall, male drivers involved in fatal crashes were twice as likely as female drivers to be drunk (20 percent and 10 percent, respectively). Drivers between 21 and 24 years old had the highest rates of intoxication (28 percent), followed by those between 25 and 39 years old (25 percent). Drivers 16 to 20 years old involved in fatal crashes were intoxicated 14 percent of the time. Between 1982 and 1998, estimated reductions in the proportion of intoxicated drivers in fatal crashes are 42 percent for drivers of passenger cars, 43 percent for light trucks and vans, 60 percent for medium trucks, 75 percent for heavy trucks, and 27 percent for motorcycles. Drivers of motorcycles continue to exhibit a high rate of intoxication in fatal crashes, with 30 percent having levels of at least 0.10 in 1998, compared with 20 percent for drivers of light trucks and vans and 18 percent for drivers of passenger cars. The following comparisons can be made for the 1997 and 1998 data: ! In 1998, 30 percent of all fatal crashes involved a driver or nonoccupant with BAC 0.10 or greater, the same as in 1997. ! Alcohol involvement rates were unchanged for both male and female drivers in fatal crashes; however, female drivers continue to have much lower rates of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes (48 percent lower in both 1997 and 1998). (A)
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