This research note identifies significant differences in blood alcohol concentration (BAC) values between age groups and vehicle types in fatal crashes. An important finding of this study is that BAC values for motorcycle operators are distributed differently than BAC values of passenger vehicle drivers. The analysis also revealed that older drivers involved in fatal crashes tend to have lower BAC values than drivers from other age groups involved in fatal crashes. The statistical techniques used in this research note visually demonstrate the severity of the impaired-driving problem in that the majority of alcohol-involved drivers killed in fatal crashes exceed the legal per se limit of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL). The Fatality Analysis Report-ing System (FARS) contains BAC values for drivers with positive BAC involved in fatal crashes. The data used for this research note were from the years 2000-2004, and only drivers and operators with positive BAC values were considered in the analysis. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting