Driving in an alcoholic condition is one of the major causes of traffic accidents. This paper undertakes to point out the correlation between traffic accidents and level of alcohol. 7249 autopsy cases from the Morgue Department of Istanbul, Turkey between 1994-1996 were reviewed. All death cases due to traffic accidents were examined for age, gender, lesions, special types of trauma, causes of death and blood alcohol levels. Males (78.1%) were the major group of all traffic accidents. The highest incidence was at the age group of 40-59 (23.3%) among males and 60-69 (25.9%) among females. General body trauma (43.9%) was stated to be the major cause of death. Alcohol was detected in 21.9% of all traffic accident cases and according to the injury localization 56.2% of all these cases were drivers. The results indicate that fatality rates demonstrated significant correlation with drink-driving. Turkish laws concerning driving and alcohol are not very restraining. Therefore, it is not surprising that driving under the influence of alcohol is a permanent problem. (Author/publisher).
Abstract