Women, Alcohol, and Traffic Safety

We have heard reports about women's increasing presence in motor vehicle fatalities and dangerous driving. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (1995), between 1975 and 1994 the number of male drivers in fatal crashes dropped from 45,084 to 39,739, a drop of almost 12 percent. During the same period, women drivers in fatal crashes increased from 9,356 to 13,430, an increase of 43.5 percent (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1995). It is understandable that these numbers caused alarm. What is happening with women? The role of women in our society, and particularly their role in relation to transportation, has changed dramatically over the past two and a half decades. Changes that affect women and transportation include changes in driving behavior, changes in crash involvement, changes in alcohol use and alcohol-related crash involvement, demographic changes, and differences in alcohol's impact on women.