The risk of a driver to be killed or injured in a crash increases considerably under the influence of alcohol. The risk increases with increased alcohol concentration. In this study, a risk curve for car drivers representing Swedish conditions has been calculated. The curve shows the risk of being killed in a car crash given a specific alcohol concentration, relative to the corresponding risk of a sober driver. The results show that the estimated relative risk is about 12 times in the lowest concentration interval, 0.2–0.4 per mille. The relative risk then increases considerably with increased alcohol concentration and is almost 1,300 times for the interval 2.2–2.4 per mille. The analyses also show that the estimated risk differs between daytime and nighttime. The risk curves are similar for low concentrations but the curve representing nighttime driving increases faster than the curve representing daytime driving. For example, the estimated relative risk is about 3,300 times at night when the alcohol concentrations is between 2.2 and 2.4 per mille. The calculations are mainly based on in-depth studies of fatal car crashes and data from police controls. (Author/publisher)
Abstract