Perspectives in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Patterns of Alcohol Use among Teenage Drivers in Fatal
Motor Vehicle Accidents -- United States, 1977-1981
From 1977 to 1981, data from the Fatal Accident Reporting
System
(FARS)* show that the overall proportion of drivers with measurable
blood alcohol concentrations (BACs)** steadily increased (Figure
1).
The percentage of 16- to 19-year-old drivers (defined as "teenage")
tested who had positive BACs rose from 20% in 1977 to 28% in
1981--an
8% increase. Comparable increases occurred among young adult
(20-24
years of age) and adult drivers (25 years of age or older). During
this same time period, the percentage of drivers reported to have a
BAC test (including persons whose reported BAC was zero) also
increased--e.g., the proportion of teenage drivers with reported
BAC
test results increased 9%.
In 1981, BAC results showed that 21% of the 8,790 teenage
drivers
involved in fatal motor vehicle accidents had been drinking
alcoholic
beverages. However, the extent of alcohol use among drivers
involved
in fatal motor vehicle accidents varied markedly depending on the
driver's sex and age, number of vehicles involved, time of day, and
day of the week the accident occurred. More single vehicle fatal
accidents (SVFAs) than multiple vehicle fatal accidents (MVFAs)
have
been estimated to involve drivers with high BAC levels (1). In
1981,
28% of the 4,199 teenage drivers involved in SVFAs had positive
BACs,
in comparison with 14% of the 4,591 teenage drivers involved in
MVFAs.
A more detailed analysis of teenage and other drivers involved
in
SVFAs is illustrated in Figure 1 and shown in Table 2. Five times
as
many male drivers as female drivers were involved in SVFAs in 1981.
Teenage male drivers involved in SVFAs were as likely as adult male
drivers to have been drinking an alcoholic beverage. Approximately
29% of each group had positive BACs. Fewer teenage female drivers
than male drivers were involved in alcohol-related SVFAs, although
23%
of the former had positive BACs. Sixteen percent of adult female
drivers involved in SVFAs had positive BACs.
The greatest risk of involvement in an alcohol-related SVFA for
all male drivers was at night on weekends: 35% of teenage male
drivers, 40% of young adult male drivers, and 37% of adult male
drivers involved in SVFAs at such times had positive BACs. In
contrast, across the three age groups of females analyzed, 24%-35%
of
those involved in SVFAs on weekday nights had positive BACs,
compared
with 25%-31% of those involved in SVFAs on weekend nights. A
higher
proportion of male drivers involved in SVFAs on weekday nights were
more likely to have a positive BAC, with percentages ranging from
30-36 across the three age groups examined.
Results of two national probability surveys (2,3) confirm the
FARS
findings. In these surveys, a larger proportion of young adult
drivers generally reported alcohol use than did teenage or adult
drivers. Although the survey data indicate that alcohol use among
teenagers is a widespread national problem, proportionately more
people in their twenties report higher levels of alcohol use and
problems related to it than do members of any other age group. The
FARS data demonstrate that the risk of a fatality from an
alcohol-related motor vehicle accident is high for teenagers and
that
the risk of fatality further increases in the 20-24 year age group.
Reported by C Lowman, PHD, N Verdugo, MA, H Malin, MA, S Aitken,
DPA,
Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System, Div of Biometry and
Epidemiology,
National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Div of
Surveillance and Epidemiologic Studies, Epidemiology Program
Office,
CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: Interpretations based on the FARS data cannot be
relied upon strictly, because of the data's incompleteness.
However,
these findings could indicate 1) that an increase in the number of
drivers using alcohol before being involved in a fatal crash led to
an
increase in the number of drivers suspected of alcohol use and,
therefore, given a BAC test or 2) that the increase in the number
of
drivers who use alcohol and then drive is an artifact of improved
BAC
testing and reporting. The findings in Figure 1 indicate that the
1981 BAC data are more complete than FARS data for earlier years
and,
therefore, may be more representative of patterns of alcohol use.
Recent FARS data indicate a rapid decrease of 15% in the total
number of fatal accidents in the period 1980-1982, with the major
decrease occurring in 1982. After adjusting the 1980-1982 data for
population changes in specific age groups, the decrease in
fatalities
is 5% greater among 15-19 year olds than among other age groups
(4).
One interpretation of the 1981 FARS data suggested that loss of
work
and discretionary income related to the recession may have had a
greater impact on the ability of teenage drivers to afford to
operate
a motor vehicle and to purchase alcoholic beverages than on older
drivers (5). Data on changes in mortality rates lend support to
this
theory; death rates from traffic fatalities among 16-19 year olds
decreased from 50/100,000 persons in 1979 to 43/100,000 in 1981
(6).
If subsequent analyses show that economic factors influence these
events, numbers of fatal motor vehicle accidents may increase with
economic recovery and growth.
References
Cerrelli EC. Alcohol in fatal accidents: national
estimates--U.S.A. NHTSA Technical Note. Washington, D.C.:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Research and
Development, 1983.
Rachal JV, Guess LL, Hubbard RL, et al. The extent and nature
of
adolescent alcohol and drug use: the 1974 and 1978 national
sample
studies. Adolescent drinking behavior, Vol. 1. Rockville, Md.:
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1980. NTIS
No.
PB81199267.
Clark W, Midanik L. Alcohol use and alcohol problems among U.S.
adults: results of the 1979 national survey. In: National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol consumption
and
related problems. Alcohol and Health Monograph No. 1. DHHS Pub.
No. (ADM) 82-1190. Washington, D.C.: Supt. of Docs., U.S.
Goverment Printing Office 1982:3-52.
Cerrelli EC. The 1982 traffic fatalities: early assessment.
Washington, D.C.: National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration,
Research and Development, 1983.
Partyka S. The 1981 traffic fatality decrease: isolation of the
affected population. Washington, D.C.: National Highway
Traffic
Safety Administration, Research and Development, 1983.
Malin HJ, Trumble J, Kaelber CT, Lubran B. Alcohol-related
highway
fatalities among young drivers--United States. MMWR
1982;31:641-4.
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