THE HARD CORE DRINKING DRIVER

This report examines an increasingly important segment of the drinking-driving problem--individuals who drive with high blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and, in particular, those who do so frequently. These drivers account for a large portion of the alcohol-related crashes. Evidence is also growing that many of these individuals are alcohol dependent. If this is so, it has obvious policy and program relevance. The objectives of this report are: to determine how significant the problem is--to quantify the magnitude of the problem by attempting to determine what portion of alcohol-related crashes as well as what portion of the road crash problem in general is attributable to individuals who drive with high BACs; to describe what is known about such individuals--to describe the attributes and characteristics of high-BAC drivers; and to identify what programs and policies seem best suited to deal with the high-BAC driver. Section 1.0, Introduction, gives an overview of the subject, provides background information, discusses the rationale and purpose of the report, and outlines the report's organization and scope. Section 2.0, Study Method, describes the approach taken to document what is known about high-BAC drivers and the data sources used. Section 3.0, Magnitude of the Alcohol-Crash Problem and the Incidence of High BACs, examines contemporary data on the incidence of alcohol in fatally injured drivers and focuses in particular on the extent of high BACs in these crashes. Section 4.0, Crash Risk Among Drinking Drivers, examines the risk of fatal collision for drivers with high BACs. The BACs of drivers on the road are examined and then compared to the BACs of fatally injured drivers to determine the relative risk of fatal collision for drivers at different BACs. Section 5.0, Attributes and Characteristics of Drivers with High BACs, discusses the characteristics of high-BAC drivers, including their demographics, drinking problems, and driving-related problems. Section 6.0, Implications for Dealing with the Alcohol-Crash Problem, considers the implications of the findings for policy and program development directed at the problem of high-BAC drivers.