A case-control study was conducted to test hypothesis about involvement in alcohol-related road accidents. Cases were defined as all male drivers between 18 and 25 years of age who were involved in a police-registered alcohol-related road accident in the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Ticino or the city of Zurich in 1990 and who had a BAC level of 0.8 promille and more (N=306). Accident-free controls were drawn from registers of all persons with a driver's licence, matched for sex, age, and place of residence (N=261). The main research instrument was a questionnaire distributed to cases and controls. Since response rates were relatively low in both groups, specific analyses were undertaken to exclude the possibility of a selection of bias. Results demonstrated that drinking pattern and risk behaviour were important contributing factors to the accidents. Especially, male persons with a permanent heavy-drinking style, males with a risky-driving style plus a regular or periodically heavy-drinking style, and persons who enjoy taking the risk and drink to cope, increase their risk of being involved in an alcohol-related traffic accident more than sixfold. A tendency to engage generally in risky behaviour did not increase the risk of involvement in an alcohol accident.
Abstract