Factors associated with alcohol and responsibility for fatal highway crashes.

"RESPONSIBILITY" FOR A CRASH WAS DETERMINED IN 292 AUTOMOBILE DRIVERS AND 113 PEDESTRIANS, AGED 15 AND OLDER KILLED IN ALAMEDA AND SACRAMENTO COUNTIES, CALIF., DURING 1960-67. PEDESTRIANS WITH BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATIONS (BAC) OF 0.10% OR OVER WERE RESPONSIBLE IN 61% OF THE FATALITIES INVOLVING PEDESTRIANS. AMONG BOTH PEDESTRIANS AND DRIVERS, WHOSE WITH ZERO BAC WERE RESPONSIBLE IN 47% OF THE CASES; WITH 0.05 - 0.099% BAC, 79%; AND WITH 0.15% OR OVER, 89%. AMONG CRASH-RESPONSIBLE DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS AGED 15-19, 44% HAD ZERO BAC AND 20% HAD 0.10% OR HIGHER. CRASH-RESPONSIBLE PERSONS AGED 20-59 HAD ZERO BAC IN 26% AND 0.10% OR HIGHER 64%, WHEREAS 61% OF CRASH-RESPONSIBLE PERSONS AGED 60 OR OVER HAD ZERO BAC AND 36% HAD 0.10% OR HIGHER. IN 39 CRASHES BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER WERE KILLED; IN 19 BOTH HAD ZERO BACS OR LESS THAN 0.05%; IN 10 THE PASSENGERS HAD SUBSTANTIALY LOWER BACS THAN THE DRIVERS; IN 7 BOTH HAD 0.10% BAC OR HIGHER; IN 3 THE DRIVER HAD A LOWER BAC THAN THE PASSENGERS. THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRESUMPTIVE PROBLEM DRINKERS AND OTHERS IN CRASH RESPONSIBILITY EITHER AT ZERO BAC OR AT 0.10% AND HIGHER. BAC WAS MORE IMPORTANT IN CRASH RESPONSIBILITY THAN VEHICLE AGE. IN TEEN-AGERS, NEARLY ALL ALCOHOL-RELATED CRASHES OCCURRED AT NIGHT AND AT RELATIVELY LOW BACS. /AUTHOR/