Factors associated with high blood alcohol concentrations among fatally injured drivers in the United States, 1991

Although alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes declined in the 1980s, they remain a major problem in the 1990s. In this report, driver and crash factors associated with high blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) were studied in 23 states that in 1991 conducted chemical tests for alcohol on adeqate proportions of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers. In these states in 1991, 40% of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers had BACs greater or equal to .10%; 21% had very high BACs, greater than or equal to .20%. Factors prominently associated with high BACs were younger age, male, late night hours, lack of seat belt use, suspended/revoked licenses, fixed object crashes, rollovers, and crashes on curves. Sixty % of fatalities among male drivers ages 21-40 had BACs greater than or equal to .10 % and this group comprised more than half of all high BAC drivers. In contrast, drugs other than alcohol are infrequently found among fatally injured drivers.