Alcohol Effects and Driving Impairment

The most reliable source of information on alcohol-related crashes comes from the Fatality Analysis Report System (FARS) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In 1982, 60 percent of fatally injured persons (drivers, passengers and pedestrians) in traffic collisions had alcohol involvement, a figure that drooped to 40 percent in 1996. These figures are conservative since they do not take into account hit-run collisions, which studies indicate have a preponderance of intoxicated drivers. The chapter describes how there has been a plateau since 1996, with little change in the relative frequency of alcohol-related accidents, injuries and deaths in the United States. Moreover, there appears to be similar lack of improvement in the alcohol-related accident data from other countries during this period. It is clear that new countermeasure programs will be required if the social cost of alcohol consumption of drivers is going to be reduced.