Analysis of alcohol-impaired young drivers in fatal crashes.

Author(s)
Pickrell, T.M. & Starnes, M.
Year
Abstract

This report examines the relationship between the blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of young drivers 16 to 20 years old and a comparison group (drivers 21 to 34) involved in fatal crashes and the following factors: restraint use, previous driving while intoxicated (DWI) conviction, driver license status, number of vehicles involved in the crash, speed limit, vehicle type, number of vehicle occupants, driver gender, time of day, day of week, holiday period, season, rural/urban status, and region of the country. Using NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data, we examine the relationship between BACs and the above-listed factors first with an exploratory data analysis, presenting percentages based on the two most recent years of available FARS data (2008-2009), and then by an ordinal logistic regression analysis, using 2000-2009 FARS data. While both age groups had 5.0 percent of their drivers with BACs of .01 to .07 grams per deciliter, the percentage of drivers with BACs of .08 to .14 g/dL was slightly higher among drivers 21 to 34 (10.5%) versus drivers 16 to 20 (8.1%); by comparison, the percentage of drivers with BACs of .15 g/dL or higher was more than twice as high among drivers 21 to 34 years old (23.4%) versus drivers 16 to 20 (10.1%). Among drivers 16 to 20, 76.8 percent had BACs of .00, compared to 61.1 percent of drivers 21 to 34. Among drivers with positive BACs, 60 percent of the drivers 21 to 34 years old had BACs of .15 or higher, compared to only 43 percent of drivers 16 to 20. Ordinal logistic regression analysis demonstrated the partial effect of each factor on BAC while adjusting for the presence of all other variables in the model. This method of analysis demonstrated that the most significant factors for predicting the driver BAC level were restraint use, previous DWI status, and the time of day. Specifically, unrestrained drivers, drivers with DWI convictions recorded within three years of the crash, and drivers at night were likely to have BAC values in higher BAC categories than drivers not fitting this profile. (Author/publisher)

Publication

Library number
20120011 ST [electronic version only]
Source

Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Transportation DOT, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA, National Center for Statistics and Analysis NCSA, Mathematical Analysis Division, 2011, III + 34 p.; DOT HS 811 525

Publication (link)

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