This report describes the conduct of a project to compile data on alcohol use by persons fatally injured in motor vehicle accidents occurring on or off public highways in Canada. Data are obtained from two sources: (1) police-reported information on the characteristics of the victim and details of the fatal motor vehicle accident; and (2) coroners' and medical examiners' files for objective, toxicological data from body fluid samples (mostly blood) on alcohol-use among victims. The primary focus of the report is on alcohol in fatally injured drivers because this group of road users is of greatest interest to traffic safety officials, and the rate of testing for alcohol is consistently higher among drivers than other groups of road users. A secondary focus is on alcohol in fatally injured pedestrians because walking on or by highways after drinking is extremely risky and the testing for alcohol especially among those over 16 years of age is reasonably high. The report contains (1) general descriptive information on the frequency and quantity of alcohol found in drivers and pedestrians fatally injured in motor vehicle collisions in Canada during 1993 and (2) trends in alcohol detected among fatally injured operators of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, vans, and tractor-trailers and among fatally injured pedestrians. As well, data on alcohol use by fatally injured drivers are presented separately for each province and territory. General descriptive information on the incidence of alcohol among fatally injured drivers are first presented; then, trends in alcohol involvement among fatally injured automobile drivers are examined. An historical overview of the Fatality Database Project and a more detailed description of the design of the project are provided in an Appendix. (Author/publisher)
Abstract