Injured Intoxicated Drivers: Citation, Conviction, Referral, and Recidivism Rates☆,☆☆,★
Section snippets
INTRODUCTION
Although the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) are well publicized, DUI remains the most frequently cited cause of death on the nation’s highways. 1, 2 Approximately 500,000 people are injured each year in alcohol-related collisions. Traffic accidents are the No. 1 killer of people between the ages of 5 and 34 years, and alcohol is involved in up to 55% of all fatal crashes. 2 As a result, many states have passed stringent laws to combat this problem. In Ohio alone, more
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective review of the trauma registry at MetroHealth Medical Center was conducted to identify all drivers involved in vehicular accidents within the City of Cleveland who were admitted to the trauma service between January 1993 and April 1995. Drivers were identified by applicable cause of external injury codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification. MetroHealth Medical Center is an urban, Level I trauma center. We included only drivers
RESULTS
A total of 211 drivers older than 16 years of age whose crash occurred within the City of Cleveland jurisdiction were admitted to MetroHealth Medical Center’s trauma service between January 1993 and April 1995. Seventy (33%) of these drivers had a BAC of .10 gm% or higher. The BAC of intoxicated drivers ranged from .10 to .42 gm%, with an average (±SD) of .24±.086 gm%. Fifty-one drivers (73%) were men. The mean age of intoxicated drivers was 32±11.8 years.
Twenty-three (32.8%) of the 70 were
DISCUSSION
Several investigators have studied citation and conviction rates for DUI among patients admitted to a trauma service. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 McLaughlin et al 4 reported a conviction rate of 59% among injured intoxicated drivers, compared with 100% for uninjured intoxicated drivers. Rehm et al 5 found that only 14% of 81 intoxicated injured drivers were convicted of their offense. Colquitt et al 6 reported that 42% of 49 injured intoxicated drivers presenting to a Level I trauma center in Grand
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Cited by (25)
“Residual blood THC levels in frequent cannabis users after over four hours of abstinence: A systematic review.”
2020, Drug and Alcohol DependenceFactors affecting conviction rates of intoxicated driver patients in two large trauma centers
2016, Traffic Injury PreventionLegal consequences for alcohol-impaired drivers injured in motor vehicle collisions: A systematic review
2015, Accident Analysis and PreventionCitation Excerpt :Table 2 summarizes the legal consequences for injured intoxicated drivers seen in an ED or trauma center. Most studies (Barillo, 1993; Biffl et al., 2004; Brubacher et al., 2013; Chang et al., 2001; Cheek et al., 2013; Criddle and Carson, 1998; Colquitt et al., 1987; Cydulka et al., 1998; Evett et al., 1994; Fantus et al., 1991; Fieldus and Cain, 2012; Goecke et al., 2007; Holmes et al., 2014; Krause et al., 1998; Lillis et al., 1993; Mattsson et al., 2000; Maull et al., 1984; McLaughlin et al., 1993; Purssell et al., 2004, 2010; Rehm et al., 1993; Runge et al., 1996; Schermer et al., 2001; Soderstrom et al., 1990, 1993) assessed police charges and convictions by linking medical records with driving abstracts, police driving records, or court records. One prospective consecutive observational cohort study Lahn et al. (2000) enrolled all drivers aged 18 or older evaluated in the ED following a MVC and used trained research assistants to collect data on patients and the police presence at the scene of the MVC.
Medical driver selection and alcohol
2009, Forensic Science International Supplement SeriesFactors contributing to the amount of vehicular damage resulting from collisions between four-wheel drive vehicles and passenger cars
2001, Accident Analysis and PreventionCitation Excerpt :Accordingly, the general problem of reducing the costs of repairing vehicles involved in crashes might be addressed by an increased enforcement of traffic laws and the penalties imposed for unsafe acts that contribute to greater vehicular damage. For example, several studies indicate that citation and conviction rates for driving after consuming alcohol or using drugs is highly variable (Cydulka et al., 1998; Bossin et al., 1996; McLaughlin et al., 1993; Rehm et al., 1993; Barillo et al., 1996; Runge et al., 1996). It is possible to argue that a less tolerant approach to driving while impaired, failing to yield, failing to obey a stoplight or stop sign and traveling at an excessive rate promises to reduce the undesirable outcomes of motor vehicle crashes involving four-wheel drive vehicles and passenger cars.
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From the Departments of Emergency Medicine * and Surgery, ‡ MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH.
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Reprint no. 47/1/92114
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Address for reprints: Rita K Cydulka, MD Emergency Medicine, S1-203 MetroHealth Medical Center 2500 MetroHealth Drive Cleveland, OH 44109 216-778-5088 Fax 216-778-5349