Bicycling injury results in about 580,000 emergency room visits and 900 deaths each year in the United States. Alcohol involvement in bicycling injury has not been well documented in the literature. Using data from the Fatal Accident Reporting System, blood alcohol concentrations (BAC's) among fatally injured bicyclists ages 15 years or older were examined for the years 1987-1991. Of 1711 bicyclists who were killed at age 15 or older and tested for alcohol, 32% were positive and 23% legally intoxicated. Adjusted for age, time of crash and other variables, male victims were 3.3 times as likely as female victims to be BAC positive, and 3.9 times as likely to be legally intoxicated. Alcohol regulations for people biking on public roads should be seriously considered. (A)
Samenvatting