As countermeasures against drink driving achieve success, so the relative importance of the problem of drinking pedestrians tends to increase. The results from three linked studies are presented. A survey in Cardiff interviewed and breath tested 1,663 adult pedestrians at five sites during the time 1700 to 2359. The incidence of drinking pedestrians (BAC > 0.09g/L) rose from 4% at 1700 to 71% at 2300. Controlling for time of day, the incidence was largely unrelated to age, sex or socioeconomic group. A study of injured pedestrians in Cardiff found that 46% of those tested for alcohol had BACs above 0.09g/L and 32% had BACs over 1.5g/L. Control data obtained from roadside interviewing of non-accident-involved pedestrians was used to produce relative accident risks. For BACs above 2.0g/L, the relative accident risk was more than 20 times that for a pedestrian at 0g/L. A study of fatally injured adult pedestrians in the West Midlands found slightly lower incidences of alcohol (33% above 0.09g/L and 22% over 1.5g/L). More males than females had been drinking and their BACs were higher. The relative accident risks were comparable to those found for non-fatally injured pedestrians in Cardiff. The implications of these findings are assessed.
Abstract