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World Health Day
2004

Alcohol-Impaired Drivers Have 17 Times More Risk of Involvement in Fatal Crashes

Washington, April 8, 2004 (PAHO)—Alcohol-impaired drivers have 17 times more risk of being involved in a fatal crash than an unimpaired driver, a panel of experts said today.

In a meeting at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as part of the new "Road Safety is No Accident" campaign, experts presented information on the relationship between traffic crashes and alcohol consumption. Health in the Americas Week April 7-14 is dedicated to road safety.

Dr. Maristela Monteiro, PAHO's regional adviser on alcohol and substance abuse, said that in the Americas, 13 percent of male deaths and 3.4 percent of female deaths are generally linked to alcohol consumption.

Studies in low-income countries show alcohol is present in between 33 percent and 69 percent of fatally injured driver, and inexperienced young drivers everywhere with a high blood alcohol content have 2.5 times the risk of a crash compared with more experienced drivers.

Alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of traffic accidents globally, according to a new World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention by the World Health Organization and the World Bank.

PAHO, together with other partners, yesterday announced the launch of a regional campaign to reduce deaths and injuries from traffic crashes in the Americas, focusing on increased use of seat belts and helmets, reductions in drunk driving, road improvements and others. The partners include the World Bank, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the American Automobile Association, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Safe Kids, and others.

Christine Branche of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 21 percent of drivers under 20 years old who died in crashes in 1997 were drunk, but added that the number of fatal accidents is going down, thanks to community campaigns. To further decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes, communities need to implement and enforce strategies that are known to be effective, such as sobriety checkpoints, laws limiting the legal blood alcohol content to 0.08 percent, minimum legal drinking age laws, "zero tolerance" laws for young drivers, designated driver programs, school education, and media campaigns.

In 2002, 17,419 people in the United States died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, accounting for 41 percent of all traffic-related deaths, according to Jeff Michael, Director, Office of Impaired Driving and Occupant Protection of the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration.

The experts stressed that cultural changes with respect to alcohol are essential, noting that in the United States, 47 percent of young people drink alcohol, 30 percent consume five or more drinks in a couple of hours, and 13 percent drive after drinking. Alcohol is a factor in a quarter of all deaths of children in traffic crashes.

Alcohol is even a risk factor for pedestrians, who often don’t respect crosswalks and don’t have the reflexes to detect approaching vehicles.

Some 130,000 people die annually in the roads and highways of the Americas and 98,000 of these deaths occur on the roads of the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, the most populated countries of the region. Worldwide, 1.2 million die and as many as 50 million people are injured or disabled.

The traffic injury prevention report recommends appointment of a lead agency in every country to coordinate efforts by various sectors, national road safety strategies and plans of action with clear roles and objectives for each sector, and the implementation of proven interventions to prevent crashes and minimize injuries and their consequences.

The report notes that road safety is a shared responsibility, and calls on the expertise of people across many sectors and disciplines, including public health professionals, health care providers, road and motor vehicle engineers, law enforcement officials and educators.

PAHO was established in 1902 and works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and the quality of life of its people. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).