The objective of this data linkage of cross-sectional survey data on alcohol consumption with official traffic casualty records was to examine the association between drinking patterns and alcohol-related traffic casualties. Alcohol consumption measures for usual heavy drinking and risky single occasion drinking were derived for different time segments of the day from a 7-day drinking diary study of 747 current drinkers. Measures were correlated with official records of alcohol-related traffic casualties. There was a high correlation between alcohol-related traffic casualties and the number of risky single occasion drinkers that consumed alcohol outside their homes (r=0.92). On average, about 50% of these drinking occasions were attributed to usual moderate drinkers. The proportion of usual heavy drinkers was lowest in the time segments with the most alcohol-related casualties. Preventive countermeasures should be targeted at the general population, enforced particularly during specific periods of the week. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting