The STRID 2010 objective is to reduce by 40% the percent of fatalities and serious injuries involving a drinking driver by 2010. An examination of indicators of the alcohol-crash problem reveals that mostly decreases have occurred in Canada since STRID 2010 was launched in 2002. The analyses revealed: * no change in the percent of fatally injured drivers who had been drinking, from 38% in the baseline period (1996-2001) to 38% in 2003; * a 0.8% decrease in the percent of alcohol involvement in all motor vehicle fatalities, from 36.9% in the baseline period (1996-2001) to 36.6% in 2003; * a 3% decrease in the percent of motor vehicle fatalities involving drinking drivers, from 33% in the baseline period (1996-2001) to 32% in 2003; * a 15.8% decrease in the percent of drivers in serious injury crashes that involved alcohol, from 19% in the baseline period (1996-2001) to 16% in 2003. problem in recent years. Further efforts are needed, however, to achieve the targeted 40% reduction called for by STRID 2010. This is especially the case as an examination of recent data reveals that the problem remains significant. For example: * 38% of all drivers fatally injured in road crashes during 2003 had been drinking; * the overwhelming majority of fatally injured drinking drivers – about 84% of them – had BACs in excess of the legal limit of 80 mg%; an estimated 539 drivers who died in Canada in 2003 had alcohol levels in excess of the legal limit; * a substantial portion of all fatally injured drinking drivers had high BACs – 58% had alcohol levels over 160 mg%; * alcohol was involved in 36.6% of all motor vehicle fatalities in 2003 – an estimated 1,143 persons died in alcohol-related crashes in 2003; * 32% of motor vehicle fatalities involved a drinking driver in 2003 – an estimated 902 persons died in crashes on public roadways in which at least one of the drivers had been drinking; * 16% of drivers were in serious injury crashes that involved alcohol in 2003. (Author/publisher)
Abstract