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Validity of Surrogate Measures of Alcohol Involvement when Applied to Nonfatal Crashes

Overview
Journal Accid Anal Prev
Specialty Emergency Medicine
Date 2009 Apr 28
PMID 19393802
Citations 10
Authors
Robert B Voas
Eduardo Romano
Raymond Peck
Affiliations
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Abstract

Since the 1970s, nighttime fatal crashes have been used as a surrogate measure for alcohol-related fatalities for crashes for which more direct measures were absent. The validity of this approach was confirmed in 1985 but has not been re-evaluated since. Although this measure has also been applied to identify alcohol involvement in nonfatal crashes, its validity when applied to nonfatal cases has never been determined. The objective of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness of using nighttime crashes as surrogate measures for alcohol impairment when applied to fatal and nonfatal injury and property damage only (PDO) crashes. To do so, we used data from a crash-control design study collected at the roadside in two U.S. states between 1997 and 1999, as well as from the 1997-1999 and 2004-2006 Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The outcome of this study confirms the validity of using nighttime crashes as a surrogate measure for alcohol-related fatalities and supports the use of after-midnight crashes for measuring alcohol involvement in nonfatal and PDO crashes when the number of late-night crashes permits.

Citing Articles

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The effect of lowering the legal blood alcohol concentration limit on driving under the influence (DUI) in southern Taiwan: a cross-sectional retrospective analysis.

Tsai Y, Wu S, Huang J, Kuo S, Rau C, Chien P BMJ Open. 2019; 9(4):e026481.

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Space-Time Analyses of Alcohol Outlets and Related Motor Vehicle Crashes: Associations at City and Census Block-Group Levels.

Lipton R, Ponicki W, Gruenewald P, Gaidus A Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2018; 42(6):1113-1121.

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A systematic review: effectiveness of mass media campaigns for reducing alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes.

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