The study described in this scientific poster analyzed 199,316 cases of individuals fatally injured on United States highways between January 1990 and December 1994. The percentage of male and female drivers who had positive blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) when they were involved in a fatal crash was compared for four Hispanic American groups. A larger percentage of Hispanic American male drivers of Mexican origin were drinking compared to those of Puerto Rican and South American origin, who had approximately the same percentage of drinking drivers as Europan Americans. Cuban males had a substantially lower rate of drinking drivers. Hispanic American females from three geographical origins also had substantially lower percentages of drivers who were drinking at the time of their crashes: Puerto Rican, Cuban, and South American. Females of Mexican origin and Caucasian females had substantially higher percentages of drinking drivers. During 1990 through 1994, state legislatures in the U.S. were enacting new, tougher drinking-and-driving legislation, and the federal government was assisting states in establishing anti-drunk-driving programmes. An important policy issue for government officials is whether these safety programmes are benefiting all ethnic groups. The Hispanic community appears to be sharing a reduction in drinking-and-driving crashes similar to that that is occurring throughout the U.S. Unfortunately, that still leaves Mexican Americans with a greater drinking-and-driving problem than is typical of most other Americans.
Samenvatting