1. Effects of introducing an administrative .05% blood alcohol concentration limit on law enforcement patterns and alcohol-related collisions in Canada
- Author
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Laurent Carnis, Étienne Blais, François Bellavance, Alexandra Marcil, Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal (UQAM), Centre Interuniversitaire de Recherche sur les Réseaux d'Entreprise, la Logistique et le Transport (CIRRELT), École Polytechnique de Montréal (EPM)-Université de Montréal (UdeM)-HEC Montréal (HEC Montréal), HEC Montréal (HEC Montréal), Dynamiques Economiques et Sociales des Transports (IFSTTAR/AME/DEST), and Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux (IFSTTAR)-Communauté Université Paris-Est
- Subjects
Male ,0.5% BAC LAW ,Automobile Driving ,LAW ENFORCEMENT ,Alcohol Drinking ,TAUX D'ALCOOLEMIE ,ACCIDENT DE LA ROUTE ,Poison control ,Human Factors and Ergonomics ,Alcohol ,Criminal code ,Occupational safety and health ,Transport engineering ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,FATALLY INJURED DRIVER ,REGLEMENTATION ,[SHS.DROIT]Humanities and Social Sciences/Law ,0302 clinical medicine ,0502 economics and business ,Injury prevention ,CONDUITE DU VEHICULE ,Humans ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality ,050210 logistics & transportation ,business.industry ,LONGITUDINAL DATA ,05 social sciences ,Accidents, Traffic ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Law enforcement ,Human factors and ergonomics ,16. Peace & justice ,ALCOOL ,CANADA ,chemistry ,Blood Alcohol Content ,Female ,Blood alcohol content ,business ,Demography - Abstract
Except for Quebec, all Canadian provinces have introduced administrative laws to lower the permitted blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to .05% or .04% for driving-or having the care of-a motor vehicle. Using linear mixed effects models for longitudinal data, this study evaluates the effect of administrative BAC laws on fatal alcohol related crashes and law enforcement patterns in Canada from 1987 to 2010. Results reveal a significant decrease of 3.7% (95% C.I.: 0.9-6.5%) in fatally injured drivers with a BAC level equal or greater than .05% following the introduction of these laws. Reductions were also observed for fatally injured drivers with BAC levels greater that .08% and .15%. The introduction of administrative BAC laws led neither to significant changes in the rate of driving while impaired (DWI) incidents reported by police officers nor in the probability of being charged for DWI under the Criminal Code.
- Published
- 2015
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