1939•Highway Research Board ProceedingsRequires access
ALCOHOL IN RELATION TO TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
Franklin Martin Kreml, Hannah M. Johnson, F E Swineford
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Abstract
BY MEANS OF THE NEWLY DEVELOPED CHEMICAL TESTS, THE AMOUNT OF BLOOD ALCOHOL WAS DETERMINED FOR 270 DRIVERS INVOLVED IN PERSONAL INJURY ACCIDENTS AND FOR 1,750 DRIVERS SELECTED AT RANDOM. IT WAS FOUND THAT 47 PER CENT OF THE PERSONAL INJURY DRIVERS HAD BEEN DRINKING, THAT 12 PER CENT OF THE SAMPLE OF GENERAL DRIVERS HAD BEEN DRINKING, AND THAT ONLY 2 PER CENT OF THE GENERAL SAMPLE HAD IMBIBED ENOUGH ALCOHOL TO IMPAIR THEIR DRIVING ABILITY, WHICH SHOWS THAT DRINKING DRIVERS ARE INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS FAR OUT OF PROPORTION TO THEIR NUMBER IN THE GENERAL POPULATION OF DRIVERS. EQUAL PERCENTAGE OF DRINKING DRIVERS WERE FOUND IN THE ACCIDENT GROUP AND IN THE GENERAL POPULATION GROUP AT A POINT NEAR 0.5 PART OF ALCOHOL PER 1,000 PARTS OF BLOOD, INDICATING THAT ABOVE THIS AMOUNT SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ACCIDENTS INCREASES. THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGES OF DRINKING DRIVERS IN THE GENERAL POPULATION SAMPLE WERE FOUND IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AND OVER THE WEEK ENDS. /AUTHOR/