Reasons are sought for the fact that the number of drinking drivers involved in fatal accidents in New Zealand per head of population is twice as great for those who live in rural areas than for those living in urban areas. Logistic regression analysis shows that the drinking drivers who live in rural areas were more likely to be older, to be driving a very old car, to have lost control on a corner, driving on a 100 km/hr road or to be drinking before the accident at a hotel, than were drivers living in urban areas, but were less likely to have been previously involved in an injury accident. Cluster analysis, grouping the drivers with similar characteristics, yields natural groupings of the drinking drivers who live in rural areas and urban areas. (A)
Abstract