Alcohol-related motor-vehicle fatalities are no longer declining and are even increasing in the United States. It has been suggested that this stalling is partially due to inefficiencies in current policies, in particular the failure of current alcohol policies and prevention efforts to reach some vulnerable groups. Alcohol policies, such as per se laws, have been enacted based on decade-old estimates of the relative risks that drivers face. Some groups may be at a higher risk (e.g., females). Clear relative risk estimates for some relevant groups of drivers are unknown (e.g., repeat DWI offenders). Ongoing debates (such as those involving the reduction of the permissible BAC threshold from .08 to .05 or to efficiently allocate resources between specific deterrence and general deterrence programs) will benefit from this study. This proposed study will take advantage of a unique data set recently made available to provide more targeted information about the vulnerability of different groups of drivers to alcohol-related crashes, identify groups increasingly at risk, and estimate the maximum number of crashes that could be avoided if policies targeted to these groups were implemented. Among the groups of special interest are drivers aged 18 to 20, drivers with prior DWI convictions, drivers who are female, drivers at .05dBACd.08, drivers with a passenger, drivers with passengers aged 15 and younger, and drivers of racial/ethnic groups other than Whites. This information should be useful to policymakers in designing more efficient, better targeted countermeasures.

Public Health Relevance

Public Health Relevance

STATEMENT: This study will identify groups currently at risk and estimate the maximum number of crashes that could be avoided if policies targeted to these groups were implemented. This information will help to clarify ongoing policy debates and, therefore, will be useful to policymakers in designing more efficient, better targeted countermeasures.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
1R21AA018158-01A2
Application #
7980215
Study Section
Health Services Research Review Subcommittee (AA)
Program Officer
Bloss, Gregory
Project Start
2010-07-15
Project End
2012-06-30
Budget Start
2010-07-15
Budget End
2011-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$194,126
Indirect Cost
Name
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation
Department
Type
DUNS #
021883350
City
Beltsville
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
20705
Romano, Eduardo; Torres-Saavedra, Pedro; Voas, Robert B et al. (2017) Marijuana and the Risk of Fatal Car Crashes: What Can We Learn from FARS and NRS Data? J Prim Prev 38:315-328
Romano, Edurado; Torres-Saavedra, Pedro; Voas, Robert B et al. (2014) Drugs and alcohol: their relative crash risk. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 75:56-64
Torres, Pedro; Romano, Eduardo; Voas, Robert B et al. (2014) The relative risk of involvement in fatal crashes as a function of race/ethnicity and blood alcohol concentration. J Safety Res 48:95-101
Voas, Robert B; Torres, Pedro; Romano, Eduardo et al. (2012) Alcohol-related risk of driver fatalities: an update using 2007 data. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 73:341-50