Among the approaches suggested for dealing with drinking-driving is for an unimpaired passenger to drive. However, at present little is known about the blood alcohol contents (BACs) of passengers. A few studies have examined BACs of injured or killed passengers. This study provides passenger BAC data for a representative sample of the nighttime driving population. In those vehicles with two or more passengers and at least one drinker, the passenger had the higher BAC in 68% of cases. However, 61% of legally impaired drivers had no passenge. Among legally impaired drivers with a passenger, 53% of passengers also had an illegal BAC. (A)
Abstract