Alcohol usage of the nighttime driver

THIS PAPER PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE COMPARISON BETWEEN ALCOHOL USAGE IN THE GENERAL NIGHT DRIVING POPULATION AND IN THE POPULATION OF PERSONS INVOLVED IN SINGLE-VEHICLE CRASHES AT NIGHT IN A MIDWESTERN COUNTY. RANDOMLY SELECTED NIGHT DRIVERS WERE GIVEN A BREATH TEST FOR ALCOHOL AND A SHORT INTERVIEW PROTOCOL. POLICE CRASH RECORDS WERE USED TO DEFINE THE CRASH POPULATION. HEAVY ALCOHOL USAGE WAS OBSERVED IN THE EARLY MORNING DRIVING POPULATION AS WELL AS A CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN ALCOHOL-RELATED CRASHES. PERSONS INEXPERIENCED IN DRINKING AND DRIVING (YOUNG DRIVERS AND WOMEN) WERE FOUND TO BE INVOLVED IN CRASHES AT LOWER BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATIONS. BARS WERE THE MAJOR SOURCE OF ALCOHOL FOR DRIVERS WITH HIGH BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATIONS. /SRIS/