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Original article
Alcohol in fatal crashes involving Mexican and Canadian drivers in the USA
  1. Susan P Baker1,
  2. Joanne E Brady2,3,
  3. George W Rebok4,
  4. Guohua Li2,3
  1. 1Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  2. 2Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA
  3. 3Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York, USA
  4. 4Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Guohua Li, 622 West 168th Street, PH5-505, New York, NY 10032, USA; gl2240{at}columbia.edu

Abstract

Objective To determine the prevalence of alcohol involvement and impairment in fatal crashes in the USA involving Mexican and Canadian drivers.

Methods Drivers in fatal crashes in the USA were identified during 1998 to 2008 from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, and the prevalence of alcohol involvement and impairment (defined as blood alcohol concentrations ≥0.01 g/dl and ≥0.08 g/dl, respectively) was compared among drivers licensed in Mexico (n=687), Canada (n=598), and the USA (n=561 908).

Results The prevalence of alcohol involvement was 27% for US drivers, 27% for Mexican drivers, and 11% for Canadian drivers. Alcohol impairment was found in 23% of US drivers, 23% of Mexican drivers, and 8% of Canadian drivers. With adjustment for driver demographic characteristics and survival status and for crash circumstances, the prevalence of alcohol involvement was significantly lower for Canadian drivers (adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) 0.63, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.80) than for US drivers, and was similar between Mexican and US drivers (adjusted PR 0.91, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.02).

Conclusions Alcohol involvement in fatal motor vehicle crashes in the USA is similarly prevalent in US and Mexican drivers, but is substantially less common in Canadian drivers.

  • Alcohol/drugs
  • alcohol-impaired driving
  • foreign-licensed drivers
  • motor vehicle crashes

https://doi.org/10.1136/ip.2010.029744

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    Footnotes

    • Funding This research was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (grant no R01AA09963) and by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant no CCR302-2486).

    • Competing interests None.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.