The following trends downwards in traffic accidents and drink driving (DD) were registered in Finland in the 1990´s: a) 16% for the road traffic accidents for which claims have been paid by traffic insurance, b) 30-50% for the number of persons killed or injured in traffic accidents, c) 40- 50% for the number of persons killed or injured in traffic accidents involving alcohol, d) 35% for the number of drunken drivers known to police, e) 20-30 %for the rate of drunken drivers revealed in comparable road side surveys in the province of Uusimaa. In Finland, alcohol in traffic seems to be the problem in comparison to that of other intoxicants. In 1999 the rating of the drivers sentenced for driving under the influence of alcohol was 98 % and that of the other intoxicants 2 %. However, in the 1990's, the number of persons killed or injured in traffic accidents involving other intoxicants than alcohol has increased twofold and fourfold, respectively. Severe disproportion exits between the official police statistics on drunken drivers and those found in random road side surveys. More preventive and law-enforcement measures as so far are needed, because only a small minority of all the DD offenders is revealed by the police. (Author/publisher) For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD Abstract No. E201067.
Abstract