Modeling Fatal Crashes, Research Paper Example

In “Crash Risk of Alcohol Involved Driving: A Case Control Study”, the authors aimed to examine the relationship between the blood alcohol concentrations of drivers and relative crash risk in two beach towns. In this case control study, the case was defined as the person who was involved with the accident and two controls were selected at the crash site one week following the accident. The cases and controls were issued questionnaires and breath specimens were obtained. Relative risk models were generated using logistic regression. After adjusting for bias and missing data, the researchers found that statistically significant risk occurred at 0.04% BAC (Blomberg et al., 2005).

In “Review of Effectiveness of Laws Limiting Blood Alcohol Concentration Levels to Reduce Alcohol-Related Road Injuries and Deaths” the authors aimed to determine the association of risk between fatal accidents and driving patterns and how BAC measurements have led to a decrease in the total number of fatal accidents observed. Overall, the study found that a person has an impaired ability to drive if they have any level of alcohol in their blood. In addition, drivers that have a BAC that ranges from 0.02 and 0.05 are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident; this risk increases as the BAC raises higher than this level. To generate this data, information of BAC and fatal crashes was retrieved from databases that provide crash information for the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Scandinavia. Relative risk was calculated for varying BAC levels and a literature review was conducted to determine how random police stops that measure BAC has led to a decrease in fatal accidents (Killoran et al., 2010).

In “Alcohol and Impaired Driving in Texas”, the Texas state government attempted to address the issues it has with its citizens drinking and driving by determining summary statistics that indicate risk factors for drunk driving that leads to fatal car accidents. The information used for these associations included age, race, education level, and gender, among other demographics. The document also recommends ways that laws can be changed to prevent fatal car accidents. They call for suspension of the license, vehicle impoundment, mandatory alcohol assessment and treatment, a hospital report of BAC, and sobriety checkpoints. The study indicated that repeat offenders of drunk driving in Texas are likely to be white, around 35 years old, be male, have a low level of education, have low income, be unmarried, have high BAC levels, and have a history of traffic or criminal violations (Weiss et al, 2011).

In “Evaluation of the Texas 0.08 BAC Law”, the authors studied the effect of the Texas 0.08 BAC law on fatal car accidents. To retrieve data, they took advantage of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System to search for records between the years of 1995 and 2002 and compared this information to data retrieved from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol Related Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents and Casualties between the years of 1995 and 2000. The effect was studied using comparisons between people belonging to different demographic groups. Although none of the associations were found to be statistically significant, the authors believe that while the 0.08 BAC law has been effective in deterring some fatal car accidents, future research needs to be done to consider what type of legislation could better reduce these tragedies (Gorman et al., 2005).

In “Epidemiology and Consequences of Drinking and Driving” the authors attempt to summarize the demographics of the groups that frequently engage in drinking and driving and detail the effects of having a high BAC while driving. To generate this information, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration records were accessed. The study found that 41% of the people that are involved in fatal car crashes were involved in an alcohol related crash in which either themselves or the driver was considered legally intoxicated. Male drivers between the ages of 22 and 45, people with history of alcoholism, and people who do not wear safety belts are proportionately more likely to be involved in an alcohol related fatal car crash (Hingson et al., n.d.).

In “Alcohol Consumption and Unemployment Among Men: The Scottish Heart Health Study”, the authors examined the relationship between fatal car crashes due to high levels of alcohol consumption and unemployment. To do so, they surveyed a group of employed and unemployed men on their drinking habits. It was found that the unemployed men drank more frequently than the employed men after standardization for age and social class. To examine the consequences of heavy drinking, gamma-glutamyltransferase levels were measured, and it was found that unemployed men had higher levels, indicating decreased liver function. As a consequence of this study, the authors concluded that it may be more likely for unemployed men to be involved in a fatal car crash (Lee et al., 1990).

In “Alcohol Consumption Among Employed Youths: Results from a Prospective Study”, the authors followed all the students of a compulsory school in Sweden five years after completion of their studies. They were asked to complete a survey that summarizes their employment and alcohol consumption. In the all former students surveyed, there was a positive correlation between unemployment and alcohol consumption. This indicates that unemployment may be a risk factor in alcohol consumption and this group may be more likely to be involved in fatal car crashes (Janlert et al., 1992).

In “The Minimum Purchase age for Alcohol and Young-Driver Fatal Crashes: A Long-Term View” the authors attempted to understand the efficacy of a minimum purchase age on fatal car accidents. The authors collected car crash and demographic information from public government records to do so. They found that there was little difference between the age of the driver and the likelihood of getting into a car crash (Males, 1986). In “How Dangerous are Drunk Drivers” the authors develop a method to study how dangerous drunk drivers are based on data available for fatal car accidents. Based on this information, they found that legally drunk drivers are 13 times more likely than sober drivers to be involved in a fatal car accident (Porter, 2001). In “Relative Risk of Fatal Crash Involvement by BAC, Age, and Gender”, the authors retrieve their data from the “Driver Exposure Data: the 1996 Roadside Survey”. They found that BAC is a risk factor of fatal car accidents for people of all ages and both genders (Zador et al., 2000). This study is significant because it is the first to assess the relative risk for drinking drivers with a BAC between 0.08% and 0.10% and shows that even though BAC is below 0.10%, drivers are still considered drunk and should not operate a motor vehicle.

References

Blomberg RD, Perk RC, Moskowitz H, Burns M, Fiorentino D. (2005). Crash Risk of Alcohol Involved Driving: A Case Control Study. Retrieved from PDF

Gorman DM, Huber JC, Carozza SE. (2005). Evaluation of the Texas 0.08 BAC Law. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 41(2): 193-199.

Hingson R, Winter M. (n.d.). Epidemiology and Consequences of Drinking and Driving. Retrieved from PDF

Janlert U, Hammarstrom A. (1992). Alcohol Consumption Among Employed Youths. British Journal of Addiction.82: 703-714.

Killoran A, Canning U, Doyle N, Sheppard L. (2010). Review of Effectiveness of Laws Limiting Blood Alcohol Concentration Levels to Reduce Alcohol-Related Road Injuries and Deaths. Retrieved from PDF

Lee AJ, Crombie IK, Smith WCS, Tunstall-Pedoe H. (1990). Alcohol Consumption and Unemployment Among Men: The Scottish Heart Health Study. British Journal of Addiction. 85: 1165-1170.

Males, M. (1986). The Minimum Purchase age for Alcohol and Young-Driver Fatal Crashes: A Long-Term View. The Journal of Legal Studies. 15(1): 181-211.

Porter J. (2001). How Dangerous are Drinking Drivers? The University of Chicago Press. 109(6): 1198-1237.

Weiss A, Kercher G. (2011). Alcohol and Impaired Driving in Texas. Retrieved from PDF

Zador PL, Krawchuk SA, Voas RB. (2000). Relative Risk of Fatal Crash Involvement by BAC,  Age, and Gender. Retrieved from PDF