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This paper is part of a larger study of how knowledge is used in strategies for the solution of public issues. I examine research papers on the issue of drinking and driving, treating the scientific document as a literary, artistic product. Principles of literary criticism, utilized in the analysis of narrative, drama and poetry are applied to the presentation of research to show how statements of fact are given scientific legitimacy and how the literary formulation transfers such statements into rhetorical prescriptions for action. Theorizing and conclusion-making are shown to involve presentational devices of literary selection and language which confer policy implications upon them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author comments on the article "The Literary Rhetoric of Science: Comedy and Pathos in Drinking Driver Research," by Joseph Gusfield, published in the February 1976 issue of the journal "American Sociological Review." According to the author, Gusfield wants to challenge the accepted view that scientific language is a neutral transmitter of knowledge. As a result of his analysis of one paper central to policy formation with respect to drinking drivers, he suggests that there is a fundamental "tenuousness or ambiguity of conclusions" in some scientific writing. The conclusion of a logical argument, if one accepts its premises, is self-evidently true irrespective of any audience's response to it. The conclusion of a rhetorical argument, on the other hand, cannot be treated as knowledge as it stands: its cognitive status has to be assessed in relation to the response of the intended audience. To maintain that scientific discourse is rhetorical, or more warily to treat it as if rhetorical is to formulate scientific knowledge as the changing judgments of scientific audiences on the meaning of statements directed to them, where these judgments are understood to emerge through a process of persuasive argumentation. Although immanent in Gusfield's essay, this formulation is never presented in the explicit terms that clarity demands.

Acute alcohol intoxication impairs cognitive and psychomotor abilities leading to various public health hazards such as road traffic accidents and alcohol-related violence. Intoxicated individuals are usually identified by measuring their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) using breathalyzers that are expensive and labor intensive. In this paper, we developed the Audio-based Deep Learning Algorithm to Identify Alcohol Inebriation (ADLAIA) that can instantly predict an individual's intoxication status based on a 12-s recording of their speech. ADLAIA was trained on a publicly available German Alcohol Language Corpus that comprises a total of 12,360 audio clips of inebriated and sober speakers (total of 162, aged 21–64, 47.7% female). ADLAIA's performance was determined by computing the unweighted average recall (UAR) and accuracy of inebriation prediction. ADLAIA was able to identify inebriated speakers – with a BAC of 0.05% or higher – with an UAR of 68.09% and accuracy of 67.67%. ADLAIA had a higher performance (UAR of 75.7%) in identifying intoxicated speakers (BAC > 0.12%). Being able to identify intoxicated individuals solely based on their speech, ADLAIA could be integrated into mobile applications and used in environments (such as bars, sports stadiums) to get instantaneous results about inebriation status of individuals. • ADLAIA can outperform humans in identifying alcohol-inebriated individuals based solely on 12 seconds of their speech. • ADLAIA could be integrated into mobile applications and used as a preliminary tool for identifying alcohol-inebriation. • ADLAIA was able to identify inebriated speakers – with BAC of 0.05% or higher – with an UAR of 68.09% and accuracy of 67.67%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author presents a response to Michael A. Overington's article commenting on his article "The Literary Rhetoric of Science: Comedy and Pathos in Drinking Driver Research," published in the February 1976 issue of the journal "American Sociological Review." According to the author, Overington's comments raise a number of questions. The author believes that the most difficult is the problem of the meaning of knowledge in his article. This has been divided in two different problems. One of them explores how scientific findings take on significance of meaning, while the other focuses on the validity of those findings themselves. The author believes that his paper as oriented chiefly to the first of these questions because it is here that science moves toward action. This involves understanding bow it is that data become translated or transferred into conclusions and generalizations. His intention was to raise the possibility that the use of literary techniques of analysis might help in understanding how it is that data are developed and conclusions are derived. .

Youth suicide has become a public health tragedy in the United States, having tripled from 1950 to 1990 for the 15-24 year old age group. Alcohol use has been consistently found to have a strong positive correlation with suicide. Recent medical studies suggest that, for example, 23 percent of adult suicides involved intoxicated victims. Another study of Oregon youth indicated that the vast majority of suicide attempts involve poison including alcohol and drug overdoses, and 35 percent of victims had a positive blood alcohol level at time of death. This paper uses the widespread variation across states in the timing of adoption of tougher drunk driving laws that set very low legal blood alcohol limits for drivers under age 21 "zero tolerance" laws to provide new evidence on the causal effect of alcohol use on youth suicide. A handful of studies have estimated the reduced form relationship between suicide completions and various alcohol control policies. The intuition is straightforward, more restrictive alcohol control policies are presumed to reduce alcohol consumption, which in turn reduces suicide completion to the extent that alcohol use causes suicide.

Presents the final results from a meta-analysis of remedial interventions with drink and drive offenders, by Wells-Parker et al.'s papers. Publication in Addition 90 magazine; achievement of the paper; Focus of the research; Methodological problems in the report; Evaluation on drink and drive offenders.

Background: According to the most recent statistics from the World Health Organization, 1.2 million people die or are injured on the world's roads every year. Drink-driving continues to be a major risk factor for road traffic crashes, with 22% of serious road injuries (SRIs) in Victoria involving a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) equal to or above the legal driving limit of 0.05g/mL. Use of police and hospital data to determine alcohol involvement in SRIs is not reliable, with researchers using proxy measures such as high alcohol hours (HAH). This paper examines patterns of alcohol-related SRIs based on reported BAC versus the surrogate HAH measure.Methods: Trends over a 10year period (2000-2010) were examined, comparing four different SRI rates (low alcohol hours (LAH), LAH with positive BAC, HAH, HAH with positive BAC). Discontinuities in the data series were also examined. SRI data were drawn from the Road Networks Database of VicRoads containing information on all reported road crashes in Victoria.Results: For the 10year period there were 52,286 reported SRIs relating to the driver. Of the incidents where a driver's reading was recorded, 44% had a recorded BAC exceeding Victoria's legal limit of 0.05% and a further 23% had a BAC below the legal limit. During the period over 17,000 (or 34%) SRIs occurred during HAH. Where a BAC had been recorded during HAH, almost 60% exceeded the legal limit and a further 20% had some positive recording of BAC. Where SRI drivers had a recorded BAC during LAH, 58% had a positive BAC (31% with a BAC over the legal limit). While it is likely that an SRI occurring during HAH will be associated with a positive BAC (80%), of which 60% will be above the legal limit, almost 60% of SRIs during LAH had a positive BAC, with 31% above the legal limit.Conclusion: There was no significant change in overall alcohol-related SRI rates between 2000 and 2010, suggesting that policies and procedures implemented to decrease drink-driving have not reduced alcohol-related SRI rates. In the absence of a reliable direct measure (i.e., BAC readings) this paper demonstrated the utility of the surrogate HAH measure for determining changes in alcohol-related serious road injuries. Further, the unmet need for routine BAC testing in SRIs occurring during LAH requires further exploration given the significant proportion of SRIs involving positive BAC during these times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcoholic beverages continues to be one of our nations most serious social problems despite massive efforts to identify effective countermeasures. The high alcohol-related motor-vehicle-crash death rate among the young is particularly alarming. This paper examines the frequency with which convicted DUI offenders drink in seven different types of drinking places, compares the drinking locations of younger and older offenders, and speculates that machismo or the desire among young males to demonstrate their masculinity has a major impact on both drinking locations and motor-vehicle-crash death rates. The analysis finds that the younger offenders tend to drink in a variety of away-from-home locations; but after age 25 the frequency of drinking in all types of places except one's own home decreases, and the home emerges as the most important drinking location for the older offenders. The findings suggest that automobiles and parking lots may be drinking settings which are' particularly conducive to the macho drinking behaviors of young males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, 3356 alcohol-related traffic crashes were obtained from blood-alcohol test reports in Tianjin, China. Population density, intersection density, road density, and alcohol outlet densities, including retail density, entertainment density, restaurant density, company density, hotel density, and residential density, were extracted from 2114 traffic analysis zones (TAZs). After a spatial autocorrelation test, the multiple linear regression model (MLR), geographically weighted Poisson regression model (GWPR), and semi-parametric geographically weighted Poisson regression model (SGWPR) were utilized to explore the spatial effects of the aforementioned variables on drunk-driving crash density. The result shows that the SGWPR model based on the adaptive Gaussian function had the smallest AICc value and the best-fitting accuracy. The residential density and the intersection density are global variables, and the others are local variables that have different influences in different regions. Furthermore, we found that the influence of local variables in the economic–technological development area shows significantly different characteristics compared with other districts. Thus, a comprehensive consideration of spatial heterogeneity would be able to improve the effectiveness of the programs formulated to decrease drunk driving crashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the effect of state-level Sunday alcohol sales restrictions ('blue laws') on fatal vehicle accidents, which is an important parameter in assessing the desirability of these laws. Using a panel data set of all fatal vehicle accidents in the U.S. between 1990 and 2009 combined with 15 state repeals of blue laws, we show that restricting alcohol sales on Sunday has at most a small effect on fatal accident rates. Using American Time Use Survey data, we find no effect of blue laws on the location of consumption, and we show that the group whose drunk driving behavior is most affected by these laws is underage men. Overall, these results suggest that Sunday alcohol sales restrictions have fewer secular public health benefits, at least in terms of vehicle fatalities, than previously believed. © 2011 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper argues that associations between rates of 3 specific problems related to alcohol (i.e., accidents, traffic crashes, and assaults) should be differentially related to densities of alcohol outlets among underage youth and young adults based upon age-related patterns of alcohol outlet use. Methods: Zip code-level population models assessed local and distal effects of alcohol outlets upon rates of hospital discharges for these outcomes. Results: Densities of off-premise alcohol outlets were significantly related to injuries from accidents, assaults, and traffic crashes for both underage youth and young adults. Densities of bars were associated with more assaults and densities of restaurants were associated with more traffic crash injuries for young adults. Conclusions: The distribution of alcohol-related injuries relative to alcohol outlets reflect patterns of alcohol outlet use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper assumes that damages in the form of deaths and traumatic injuries caused by alcohol-related road accidents constitute a significant part of the negative externalities associated with alcohol consumption. It then compares the conventional Pigouvian solution with the impact that a sufficiently high penalty on drunken driving and better law enforcement may have. It is hypothesised that these measures may cause heavy drinkers either to cut back on their consumption of alcohol on occasions when they have to drive a vehicle or to maintain their consumption levels but refrain from driving. The welfare losses are much lower for each of these scenarios and are also carried specifically by those responsible for the negative externality. An attempt is also made to consider how individuals may respond to higher penalties and/or a more effective law enforcement system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: California is the largest alcohol market in the United States. In 2005 alone, Californians consumed almost 14 billion alcoholic drinks, which contributed to many severe and potentially fatal alcohol-related illnesses and conditions. Alcohol use also causes violent and nonviolent crimes, as well as injuries and traffic collisions. While several studies have estimated the magnitude and cost of these problems nationally and others have analyzed underage drinking costs, no overall cost estimate at the state level currently exists for California. We present the first comprehensive estimate of the cost of alcohol consumption in California. Methods: For each category of alcohol-related problems, we estimated fatal and nonfatal cases attributable to alcohol use. We multiplied alcohol-attributable cases by estimated costs per case to obtain total costs for each problem. Our estimates are presented in 2 sections, the economic costs, estimated using a human capital approach, and quality-of-life costs estimated using a quality adjusted life year framework. Results: Alcohol consumption in California led to an estimated 9,439 deaths and 921,929 alcohol-related problems, such as crime and injury in 2005. The economic cost of these problems is estimated at between $35.4 billion and $42.2 billion. Our main estimate is $38.5 billion, of which $5.4 billion was for medical and mental health spending, $25.3 billion in work losses, and $7.8 billion in criminal justice spending, property damage and public program costs. In addition, alcohol is responsible for severe reductions in individuals’ quality of life in California. We estimate that the disability caused by injury, the personal anguish of violent crime victims, and the life years lost to fatality are the largest costs imposed by alcohol. The total value for this reduced quality of life in California is between $30.3 billion and $60.0 billion. Our main estimate for quality-of-life costs is $48.8 billion. Conclusions: In light of the associated substantial illness, injuries, death, and high cost to society, alcohol consumption in California needs serious attention. In addition, the methods developed in this paper can be expanded to estimate the cost of alcohol in other states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine to what extent cultural differences in male drinking patterns mediate relationships between alcohol and injury in a Polish context. Male patients admitted to emergency rooms located in two culturally different regions were investigated. Data analysis showed significant differences in patients’ socio-demographic characteristics, their drinking patterns as well as their annual alcohol consumption. Logistic regression, however, has not confirmed any impact of site, drinking pattern and their interactions on the risk of injury. The risk of injury tended to decline with age, being more than two times lower for men over 50 years old, and was 2.4 times higher for those with an annual consumption of 12+ liters of pure alcohol. Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present study was to compare the injury severity and vehicle damage severity rates of alcohol-related crashes with rates of non-alcohol-related crashes in British Columbia (BC). Injury severity rates and vehicle damage severity rates were taken from 2002 Insurance Corporation of British Columbia traffic collision data. The data were computed in order to compare the differences in injury severity and vehicle damage severity rates of alcohol-related vs. non-alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes. Case – control methods were used in this study to analyse the risk of alcohol-related crashes compared to non-alcohol-related crashes in BC. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% CI were calculated to estimate relative risks. In the case – control analysis, the risk of fatal collision was increased for those drinking and driving compared with those driving sober (OR 4.70; 95% CI 3.15 – 7.01). Risk of injury collision was increased for those drinking and driving compared with those driving sober (OR 1.32; 95% CI 1.19 – 1.37). Importantly, the risk of vehicle damage severity was increased for those drinking and driving compared with those driving sober (write-off vehicle OR 4.24; 95% CI 3.70 – 4.86, severely damaged vehicles OR 1.98; 95% CI 1.77 – 2.21). The study reinforces existing literature to suggest that current evidence is sufficient to show an increased risk of injury and fatality to drivers and occupants in alcohol-related crashes. This paper not only emphasizes this well-known relationship, but also such consequences as increased vehicle damage severity. The connection between drinking and severity of motor vehicle crashes is popularly believed and has now received substantial scientific support. There is strong justification for injury prevention experts and policy-makers to step up motor vehicle crash injury prevention advocacy by implementing evidence-based policies to reduce rates of alcohol-impaired driving in the province of BC. Most unintentional injuries in BC are related to motor vehicle crashes. Significant improvements can be made in these statistics by: increasing the use of occupant protection (safety belt and child restraint seats); reducing alcohol-related injuries through multiple strategies including corrections in the physical environment, extensive enforcement of drinking and driving laws and health promotion/education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Drinking and driving has been identified as one of the most important contributors of motor vehicle fatalities. This paper addressed the existing gap in our public health knowledge regarding the current prevalence of driving after drinking and how this has changed over the past decade. Methods: Prevalence rates of drinking and driving in 2001–2002, and changes in those prevalence rates between 1991–1992 and 2001–2002, were examined in two large nationally representative surveys of the U.S. population. Results: Overall, the prevalence of driving after drinking was 2.9 percent in 2001–2002, representing approximately six million U.S. adults. This rate was about three-quarters of the rate observed in 1991–1992 (3.7 percent), reflecting a 22-percent reduction. Generally, the male-female differentials in the rate of driving after drinking decreased over the past decade. However, the sex ratios increased substantially for underaged youth over the past decade, reflecting the sharp decrease in prevalence of driving after drinking among 18- to 20-year-old women. Constant and emerging subgroups at high risk for drinking and driving included Whites, Native Americans, males, underaged young adults, and 21- to 25year-olds. Conclusions: The results of this study highlighted the need to continue to monitor prevalence and changes in driving after drinking. Results are discussed in the context of strengthening existing prevention and intervention efforts and developing new programs with the sociodemographic differentials observed in this study in mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past century we have learned that driving performance is impaired by alcohol even in low dosage, and that many other drugs are also linked to impairment. This paper is a summary of some of the more relevant studies in the past fifty years – an overview of our knowledge and unanswered questions. There is no evidence of a threshold blood alcohol (BAC) below which impairment does not occur, and there is no defined category of drivers who will not be impaired by alcohol. Alcohol increases not only the probability of collision, but also the probability of poor clinical outcome for injuries sustained when impaired by alcohol. This review samples the results of the myriad studies that have been performed during the last half century as experiments have moved from examination of simple sensory, perceptual and motor behaviours to more complex measures of cognitive functioning such as divided attention and mental workload. These more sophisticated studies show that significant impairment occurs at very low BACs (<0.02 gm/100 ml). However, much remains to be determined regarding the more emotional aspects of behaviour, such as judgment, aggression and risk taking. Considering that the majority of alcohol related accidents occur at night, there is a need for increased examination on the role of fatigue, circadian cycles and sleep loss. The study of the effects of drugs other than alcohol is more complex because of the number of substances of potential interest, the difficulties estimating drug levels and the complexity of the drug/subject interactions. The drugs of current concern are marijuana, the benzodiazepines, other psychoactive medications, the stimulants and the narcotics. No one test or group of tests currently meets the need for detecting and documenting impairment, either in the laboratory or at the roadside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs a unique panel data from 111 small non-metropolitan incorporated cities in California during a 108 month period from January 1981 to December 1989 in order to analyse the effect of alcohol availability on highway safety. Negative binomial regression models are estimated which include alcohol licences per square mile as a measure of alcohol availability. Theoretically, the sign of the alcohol licence density is indeterminate as it reflects a trade-off of its effect on traffic exposure and on the time price alcohol. Among the findings, increases in the density of general alcohol licences for off-site (on-site) alcohol consumption are beneficial (detrimental) to highway safety whereas increasing the density of beer/wine licences have non-uniform effects. Additional findings important to municipal policymakers are that DUI arrests and increasing the price of alcohol reduce alcohol-related crashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the main means to cope with the stubborn problem of drunk driving, the inspection of drunk driving has already been paid more attention and thus reinforced. In this paper, we model this scenario as a Stackelberg game, where the police department (called defender) allocates resources dynamically in terms of the traffic situation on the traffic network to arrest drink drivers and drivers who drink (called attacker), whether choosing drunk driving or designated driving service, expect to minimize their cost for given travel routes. However, with the number of resources are limited, our goal is to calculate the optimal resource allocation strategy for the defender. Therefore, first, we provide an effective approach (named OISDD) to fulfill our goal, i.e., generate the optimal strategy to inspect drunk driving. Second, we apply OISDD to directed graphs (which are abstracted from Dalian traffic network) to analyze and test its correctness and rationality. The experimental results show that OISDD is feasible and efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Fatal traffic accidents affect thousands of people in the US alone every year. Alcohol consumption has been identified as a strong predictor of traffic fatalities. This result is hardly surprising as drivers who decide to consume alcohol and then drive are more likely to exhibit poor driving performance. In this paper, I argue that alcohol consumption can lead to traffic fatalities by increasing restraint omission.Methods: I analyzed individual-level data about victims (n=488,829) of fatal traffic accidents that occurred in the US between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2015 from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System of the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration.Results: There is a strong relationship between alcohol consumption and restraint use. Both vehicle drivers and occupants are far less likely to be restrained when inebriated. Additional analyses show that part of the effect of alcohol consumption on traffic fatalities can be attributed to restraint omission.Conclusions: There is a significant relationship between alcohol consumption and restraint omission for both drivers and occupants of vehicles that were involved in fatal traffic accidents in the US between January 1999 and December 2015. Past public health campaigns have focused on preventing traffic fatalities by persuading drivers to refrain from getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. My data suggest that public health campaigns should inform both drivers and occupants of vehicles about the relationship between alcohol and restraint omission in order to minimize future casualties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the ability of information about alcohol use and problem patterns in men's early 20s to predict drinking and driving by their early 30s. The sample consisted of 231 healthy young men who were students or nonacademic staff at a university. Subjects were evaluated initially with questionnaires and interviews, and subsequently followed-up using interviews with themselves and with a resource person. The reported rate of drinking and driving at followup was nearly 38 %. Using logistic regression, the combination of variables that best predicted drinking and driving included prior alcohol-related auto accidents, a measure of typical drinking, and a measure of drinking-related problems. The overall prediction employing this combination was 72%, the specificity was 86%, and the sensitivity was 48%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the 1983 British seat belt law in England and Wales. The methodology employed is interrupted time series analysis. In terms of a lasting impact, the seat belt legislation for automobiles compares favorably with other interventions designed to decrease deaths and injuries on the road, such as legislation to control drinking and driving. Typically, such legislation is effective only in the short term. In contrast, the seat belt law thus far shows a stronger and more lasting shift in the reduction of serious and fatal car casualties. The post intervention decline in this variable is stronger than a control series that consists of the number of fatal and serious non-car casualties. A more marginal reduction is found for non-serious car casualties even though this drop in injuries is slightly stronger than a control category of nonserious non-car casualties. The paper suggests also that the seat belt legislation may have had a short term effect on the number of fatal and serious accidents on weekend nights, the period of time during which alcohol-related crashes are most likely to occur. The policy implications of this study suggest that with comparable compliance, such an intervention may similarly be effective in the United States and other Western countries which up to now have used primarily deterrence-based approaches to reduce highway casualties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the increase in risk and perceived risk associated with driving after drinking among young drivers. Public efforts to reduce drunk-driving fatalities; Factors which contribute to increase in the relative risks of driving; Role played by information in reducing the highway death rates.

Law enforcement agents ere asked to help solve problems involving alcohol abuse in a society exhibiting reluctance to change its attitude about drinking and driving. As the public's concern over drunken driving intensifies, use of the sobriety checkpoint is becoming a major law enforcement/public policy issue. Recent case law upholds use of the checkpoint in order to deter and detect the drunken driver. Although the United States Supreme Court has not directly ruled on the constitutionality of the sobriety checkpoint, there is a considerable body of state case law upholding its validity. Generally, with some exceptions, sobriety checkpoints appear to be constitutional if law enforcement agents follow proper guidelines and procedures. This paper analyzes case law pertaining to checkpoints, and gives law enforcement agencies direction in establishing constitutionally sound sobriety checkpoints. In conclusion, the article synthesizes roadblock and sobriety checkpoint law to provide law enforcement officers a plan for proper checkpoint construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore how specific situational variables (remoteness, speed zones, days of the week, hours of the day) and risk factors (risky behaviours and road-related conditions) might influence the comparative likelihood and severity of alcohol-related crashes (ARCs). Vehicle crash data (N = 63,226) were analysed and included the details of crashes between 2015 and 2019. In comparison to non-ARCs, ARCs were up to two times more likely to occur in rural areas and on weekdays, and two to four times more likely in the late evening and early morning (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.). In addition, risky road conditions and driving behaviours were found to significantly increase both ARC likelihood and severity, with some factors (e.g., speeding) increasing fatality risk by up to nine times. Overall, this study highlights the specific risks associated with drink driving and highlights situational factors that may increase crash risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, Japan's Road Traffic Act uses the breath alcohol concentration (BrAC), which is the concentration of alcohol in 1 L of breath, to enforce the law. However, 400 drunk driving accidents occurred in 2020 when the BrAC was below 0.15 mg/L, which is legal limit in Japan, and cognitive function may be impaired at this concentration. Therefore, we investigated the effects of alcohol consumption at levels below a BrAC of 0.15 mg/L on cognitive function and its change over time using P300, a type of event-related potential, and the concomitant negative variation (CNV). Beer with a 5% alcohol content was used as the drinking load, and the amount of alcohol consumed was determined using a derivation formula that varied according to the subject's body weight. Electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements were obtained five times before drinking and 10, 30, 50, and 70 min after, and participants were given a go/no-go task to induce event-related potentials during the measurements. The BrAC was measured immediately before the EEG measurement was performed. The results revealed that the alcohol concentration in the exhaled breath increased significantly (p<0.05) at 10, 30, and 50 min after drinking compared with immediately before. In addition, the P300 latency was significantly prolonged (p<0.05), and the early and late CNV amplitudes were significantly increased (p<0.05) in the event-related potentials during these time periods. Moreover, no significant difference was observed in expiratory alcohol concentration at 70 min post-drinking, but significant changes in event-related potentials still occurred. Therefore, our results suggest that cognitive function is impaired in patients with low levels of alcohol consumption, when the BrAC is below the legal limit, and even when the BrAC recovers after the end of alcohol consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines bicyclist, automobile driver, vehicle, environmental, and roadway characteristics that influence cyclist injury severity in order to determine which factors should be addressed to mitigate the worst bicyclist injuries. An ordered probit model is used to examine single bicycle-single vehicle crashes from Virginia police crash report data from 2010 to 2014. Five injury severity levels are considered: fatalities, severe injuries, minor or possible injuries, no apparent injuries, and no injury. The results of this study most notably found automobile driver intoxication to increase the probability of a cyclist fatality six fold and double the risk of a severe injury, while bicyclist intoxication increases the probability of a fatality by 36.7% and doubles the probability of severe injury. Additionally, bicycle and automobile speeds, obscured automobile driver vision, specific vehicle body types (SUV, truck, and van), vertical roadway grades and horizontal curves elevate the probability of more severe bicyclist injuries. Model results encourage consideration of methods to reduce the impact of biking and driving while intoxicated such as analysis of bicycling under the influence laws, education of drunk driving impacts on bicyclists, and separation of vehicles and bicycles on the road. Additionally, the results encourage consideration of methods to improve visibility of bicyclists and expectation of their presence on the road. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatal motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) continue to be a common occurrence worldwide. This paper presents a retrospective analysis of the toxicological investigation of drivers and motorcyclists fatally injured in MVCs in Scotland from 2012 to 2015. One hundred and eighteen cases with full toxicological analysis, i.e., alcohol, drugs of abuse and prescription drugs, were examined. Of those 118 MVC cases, 74 (63%) were car drivers, 32 (27%) were motorcyclists and the remaining were drivers of other vehicles such as large goods vehicles. The majority of deceased drivers and motorcyclists were male (N=104, 88%). For the toxicological findings, 51 (43%) of the cases were negative, and of the 67 (57%) positive cases, alcohol and cannabinoids were the most frequently detected substances, followed by opioids and benzodiazepines. Fifteen percent of all drivers and motorcyclists were over the prescribed blood alcohol limit at the time of analysis. In comparison to previous reports of drug use by drivers in Scotland, benzodiazepines and new psychoactive substances were less common findings in fatally injured drivers and motorcyclists than in drivers suspected of being impaired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Punjab's alcohol-poisoning tragedy garnered attention when it followed a period of national alcohol ban consequent to India's pandemic lockdown in March 2020. CONCLUSION There is a need for more rigorous studies of alcohol-poisoning reportage given the recent interest in health issues, the widespread pandemic surge in alcohol-use behaviors and media coverage of India's alcohol policy. COVID-19 lockdowns and its disruptions brought significant changes in alcohol use and addictive behaviors. Regulatory, taxation, and control policies vary across states as much as types of alcohol consumed such as foreign liquor, Indian-made foreign liquor, and various locally brewed (traditional, I desi i ) liquors. [Extracted from the article]

In March 2020, Ohio, along with many other states, enacted a stay-at-home order (i.e., "shutdown") to limit the spread of COVID-19. As a result of lower traffic, crashes should also have declined. We investigated whether crash rates declined in Ohio during the stay-at-home order and explore possible predictors for the decrease, such as reduced travel in compliance with the order, along with speeding, alcohol, and drug use. In addition, we examined whether support for President Trump would relate to greater travel and greater crashes (particularly during the stay-at-home order, when greater travel indicated lower compliance). The overall rate of crashes fell as people stayed home, mainly due to a decline in minor crashes. In contrast, the rate of serious crashes did not fall. Instead, percentage of alcohol-related crashes increased during the stay-at-home order, and the reduction in travel was associated with greater speeding-related crashes. Because alcohol and speeding tend to increase crash severity, these two factors may explain why severe crash rates were not reduced by lower traffic. Instead, it appears that those drivers remaining on the roads during the shutdown may have been more prone to risky behaviors, evidenced by a greater percentage of alcohol-related crashes across the state during the shutdown and greater speed-related crashes in counties with less traffic. In addition, county-level support for President Trump indirectly predicted greater rates of crashes (of all types) via increased travel (i.e., lower compliance with the shutdown), even while controlling for county-level income, rurality, and Appalachian region. Importantly, this mediated effect was stronger during the weeks of the shutdown, when greater travel indicated lower compliance. Thus, lower compliance with the stay-at-home order and increased risky driving behaviors by remaining drivers may explain why lower traffic did not lead to lower serious crashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health crisis that began in early 2020 has generated a large amount of interest in the effect of COVID-19 on public health. The majority of this work has centered around trying to better understand how the virus spreads, where it spreads, who is at risk and when, in order to provide evidence-based guidance to the public, and stop the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control has continued to report the largely somber findings; however, there are silver linings. The temporary reduction in daily global CO2 emissions was one of these, but there are others. In this case study on Miami-Dade County, Fl, a regression discontinuity model is used to highlight reductions in both drunk driving crashes and driving under the influence arrests. While we observed immediate reductions in both crashes and arrests as a result of the March 2020 lockdown, more importantly over the duration of the year since the lockdown we observed a staggering reduction of over 800 fewer driving under the influence arrests and almost 150 alcohol-related motor-vehicle crashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In May 2018, Scotland introduced a minimum unit price on alcohol. We examine the impact of this policy on traffic fatalities and drunk driving accidents. Using administrative data on the universe of vehicle collisions in Britain and a range of quasi‐experimental modeling approaches, we do not find that the policy had an effect on road crash deaths and drunk driving collisions. The results are robust to several sensitivity exercises. There is no evidence of effect heterogeneity by income and other predictors of alcohol consumption or cross‐border effects. A brief discussion of the policy implications of our findings is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road Accident is a significant concern in every county. According to WHO (World Health Organization) reports, 1.3 million people died in road traffic crashes, and in India, the total number of 449,002 accidents in the year 2019 led to 151,113 deaths and 451,361 injuries; this will be increasing by the day. Drunk and driving alcohol is the momentous root cause of the accidental tragedy. During the drunk and drive, there is a chance person will move very fast, so we have to check the acceleration speed of the vehicle. Sometimes a person has drowsiness during driving, whether the person is drunk or not, so we have to check the eye position of the person with the help of IoT (internet of Things) devices. This study offered a model and concept for preventing such human suffering by detecting, preventing, and informing the system using today's dominating technologies, such as IoT, Machine Learning, and Blockchain. In the proposed model on the embedded Blockchain, devices are smartly controlled. The system is built on an IoT sensor and associated sensors to detect the amount of alcohol in a driver's breath, gather data for accuracy, and make a judgment using machine learning. However, because IoT devices have a central server, attackers target the system, use Distributed Denial of Service, and temper exploit its flaws. Component-based Blockchain will also significantly boost the system's scalability and security. The suggested precise result and data received by IoT devices will not degrade, and all connected nodes will assist in resolving the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Alcohol use has been linked to impairment of cognitive and psychomotor driving skills, yet the extent to which skill impairment contributes to actual crashes is unknown. A reasonable assumption is that some driving situations have higher skill demands than others. We contend that intersections, the presence of other vehicles or moving objects, and work zones are examples of common situations with higher skill demands. Accordingly, if skill deficits are largely responsible for alcohol-involved crashes, crashes involving a drinking driver (versus only sober drivers) should be overrepresented in these driving situations. Method: Publicly available FARS data from 2010 to 2017 were collected. Fatal crashes were coded as alcohol-involved (1+ driver with a blood alcohol concentration [BAC] ≥.05 g/dl) or having no impaired driver (BACs =.000). Drug-positive crashes were excluded. Crashes were also coded as involving moving versus stationary objects, occurring at versus away from intersections, being multivehicle versus single vehicle, occurring at or away from work zones. Results: Across multiple models, controlling for time of day and type of road, alcohol-involved crashes were significantly underrepresented in crashes at intersections, with moving objects, and other vehicles. Most strikingly, alcohol-involved crashes were 24 percentage points more likely to be with a stationary object than a moving object. Conclusions: No evidence supported the idea that skill reductions are a primary contributor to alcohol-involved crashes. Alternative explanations and limitations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: While a general decreasing trend in the number of persons killed in a traffic crash involving a drinking driver has occurred in Canada since the 1980s, it is evident that much of this decrease occurred in the 1990s. Since 2002, less progress has been made as the number of persons killed in crashes involving drinking drivers remains high. To better understand the current situation, this paper describes trends in drinking and driving in Canada from 1998 to 2011 using multiple indicators based on data collected for the Traffic Injury Research Foundation''s (TIRF) Road Safety Monitor (RSM), the National Opinion Poll on Drinking and Driving, and trends in alcohol-related crashes based on data collected for TIRF''s national Fatality Database in Canada. There has been a continued and consistent decrease in the number of fatalities involving a drinking driver in Canada. This remains true when looking at the number of fatalities involving a drinking driver per 100,000 population and per 100,000 licensed drivers. This decreasing trend is also still apparent when considering the percentage of persons killed in a traffic crash in Canada involving a drinking driver although less pronounced. Data from the RSM further show that the percentage of those who reported driving after they thought they were over the legal limit has also declined. However, regardless of the apparent decreasing trend in drinking driving fatalities and behaviour, reductions have been relatively modest, and fatalities in crashes involving drivers who have consumed alcohol remain high at unacceptable levels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A considerable amount of all traffic accidents can be attributed to driving under the influence of alcohol. In particular the group of drivers aged 18–24 years is involved in many serious traffic accidents where alcohol turns out to be a major factor. In fact this age group shows about three times as many alcohol related traffic fatalities as all other categories of road users. The intervention program “Alcohol-free on the road” (Dutch: “Alcoholvrij op weg”) aims to enhance young people''s awareness of the effects of alcohol by letting them personally experience the effect of alcohol on their driving abilities. To this end, young drivers were invited to a closed circuit and allowed to drive first sober and then intoxicated, guided and guarded by driving instructors. Based on several other studies it was thought that a realistic experience of the effects of alcohol on driving abilities may contribute to a better understanding of the impact of alcohol and may stimulate attitudes that are needed to support the conscious decision not to drive while intoxicated. After more than ten years of running and data collection, 1200 young drivers have participated in the intervention program. In a quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent group design, the program is evaluated in order to assess its effectiveness both with respect to the attitudes of the participants and the actual relevant behaviour in the years after the alcohol experience intervention program they attended, i.e. the incidence of actually driving under the influence of alcohol. To do this, a questionnaire was sent to a subset (415) of the participants who have completed the program, along with a control group (450), to compare attitudes and actual behaviour. In addition, the Public Prosecutor checked the files of those who responded, for the occurrence of driving under the influence of alcohol. The group that participated in the alcohol intervention program showed more awareness about the dangers of driving while intoxicated than the control group, and this group reported improved alcohol law compliance. Furthermore, less participants in the intervention program than in the control group were present in the Public Prosecutor files, respectively 0.7% and 4.2%. Hence, the alcohol driving experience intervention program might turn out to be effective and successful in decreasing driving under the influence of alcohol. Although the results of the present study are no more than suggestive, they may be considered a first step towards demonstrating the effectiveness of this type of intervention. However, the intervention is unique and warrants a more robust evaluation. A large-sized randomized controlled trial should be conducted in the next phase to confirm the findings that the intervention program is a suitable educational tool to decrease driving under the influence of alcohol. The present paper serves to raise awareness of this intervention and its potential. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reports on a qualitative study designed to examine young drivers’ knowledge and attitudes regarding drug-driving, as the formative research for a potential drug-driving social marketing program in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Drug driving has been found to be associated with motor vehicle accidents, particularly among younger drivers. However, the potential for social marketing in this area has received little attention. This study found that young people were not aware of the effects of drugs on driving, formed their perceptions of risk (both of getting caught and of impaired driving) based on other people’s experiences, and felt that there were potential benefits to drug driving and substantial barriers to the alternative behaviours (such as using public transport). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Social host laws for minors aim to reduce teenage alcohol consumption by imposing liability on adults who host parties. Parents cite safety reasons as part of their motivation for hosting parties, preferring their teens and their teens’ friends to drink in a supervised and safe locale. Both sides predict an effect of social host liability for minors on alcohol-related traffic accident rates for under-aged drinkers; the effects, however, work in opposite directions. This paper finds that, among 18–20 year olds, social host liability for minors reduced the drunk-driving fatality rate by 9%. I find no effect on sober traffic fatalities. Survey data on drinking and drunk driving suggest the declines resulted mostly from reductions in drunk driving and not reductions in drinking. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is a sizeable literature on the effect of minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) restrictions on teenage drunk driving. This paper adds to the literature by examining the effect of MLDA evasion across states with different alcohol restrictions. Using state-of-the-art GIS software and micro-data on fatal vehicle accidents from 1977 to 2002, we find that in counties within 25 miles of a lower-MLDA jurisdiction, a legal restriction on drinking does not reduce youth involvement in fatal accidents and, for 18 and 19-year-old drivers, fatal accident involvement actually increases. Farther from such a border, we find results consistent with the previous literature that MLDA restrictions are effective in reducing accident fatalities. The estimates imply that, of the total reduction in teenager-involved fatalities due to the equalization of state MLDAs at 21 in the 1970s and 1980s, for 18-year olds between a quarter and a third and for 19-year olds over 15 percent was due to equalization. Furthermore, the effect of changes in the MLDA is quite heterogeneous with respect to the fraction of a state''s population that need not travel far to cross a border to evade its MLDA. Our results imply the effect of lowering the MLDA in select states, such as has been proposed in Vermont, could lead to sizeable increases in teenage involvement in fatal accidents due to evasion of local alcohol restrictions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The prevalence of both alcohol and cannabis use and the high morbidity associated with motor vehicle crashes has lead to a plethora of research on the link between the two. Drunk drivers are involved in 25% of motor vehicle fatalities, and many accidents involve drivers who test positive for cannabis. Cannabis and alcohol acutely impair several driving-related skills in a dose-related fashion, but the effects of cannabis vary more between individuals than they do with alcohol because of tolerance, differences in smoking technique, and different absorptions of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana. Detrimental effects of cannabis use vary in a dose-related fashion, and are more pronounced with highly automatic driving functions than with more complex tasks that require conscious control, whereas alcohol produces an opposite pattern of impairment. Because of both this and an increased awareness that they are impaired, marijuana smokers tend to compensate effectively while driving by utilizing a variety of behavioral strategies. Combining marijuana with alcohol eliminates the ability to use such strategies effectively, however, and results in impairment even at doses which would be insignificant were they of either drug alone. Epidemiological studies have been inconclusive regarding whether cannabis use causes an increased risk of accidents; in contrast, unanimity exists that alcohol use increases crash risk. Furthermore, the risk from driving under the influence of both alcohol and cannabis is greater than the risk of driving under the influence of either alone. Future research should focus on resolving contradictions posed by previous studies, and patients who smoke cannabis should be counseled to wait several hours before driving, and avoid combining the two drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the finding from a study that examined the relationship between social bond variables and drunk driving in a sample of university students. A questionnaire containing indicators representing social bond variables, as well as a measure of drunk driving was administered to a sample of 1459 college students. The results of this study provide mixed support for social bond theory. On the one hand, commitment to conventional activities and acceptance of conventional beliefs were negatively related to drunk driving. On the other hand, neither the involvement component nor the attachment component were related to drinking and driving in the manner predicted by social bond theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The main aim of this paper is to analyse the development in alcohol-related mortality and other indicators of alcohol-related harm for the period 1990–2005 but with focus on the recent period of rising population drinking. Data: The harm indicators included are various forms of alcohol-related mortality (accidents, cirrhosis, suicide, homicide and an index of alcohol-specific mortality) and hospitalisations (index of alcohol-specific diagnoses, liver cirrhosis and alcohol poisonings) as well as alcohol-related crime indicators (police-reported assaults, drink-driving offences and police arrests for drunkenness). Data on alcohol consumption were obtained from the Swedish Monitoring survey. Results: The findings confirm previous studies suggesting that recently alcohol-related mortality in general has not increased as expected with the rise in alcohol consumption. Still, a closer look revealed several indications of higher alcohol mortality today compared with the period before consumption started to increase, e.g., for liver cirrhosis, fatal accidents and alcohol-specific mortality in Southern Sweden. Further, alcohol-related hospitalisations in somatic care and hospitalisations for liver cirrhosis and alcohol poisonings have increased among both men and women and a recent upward trend was found regarding reported drink-driving offences, alcohol-related traffic accidents and violent crimes. Conclusion: Taking all indicators together suggests that alcohol-related harm in Sweden today has become higher compared with the situation before population drinking started to rise in the late 1990s, though not at the expected extent for all harms. A lower level of drinking in Sweden would most likely give rise to less alcohol-related problems among men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underage drinking and its associated consequences, including driving after drinking and riding with a drinking driver, remain a major public health concern to this nation. Underage drinking is also a major contributor to motor-vehicle injuries and fatalities among persons age 15 to 20. School-based alcohol prevention programs are essential in helping to prevent drinking and driving among adolescents. This paper will present methods and results of a preliminary evaluation conducted on a school-based drinking and driving prevention program for high school students that simulates alcohol-related consequences and involves various community elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Driving under the influence (DUI) is a major public health problem. In 2003, there were 17,401 alcohol-related crash fatalities. Although there has been a large decrease in the fatality rates over the past two decades, further progress has stalled in recent years. This plateau in the injury and death rates resulting from impaired driving has been attributed, in part, to the persistent or repeat DUI offender. Broadly defined, repeat offenders are those individuals who, following an initial DUI arrest, relapse to driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. In this paper, we first provide a brief overview of several models of DUI relapse. We then review the empirical literature on DUI relapse, the data describing characteristics of first-time and repeat DUI offenders, and, especially, studies that have evaluated the impact of legal sanctions and rehabilitation programs on subsequent DUI behavior. The data reveal that DUI offenders are a heterogeneous group, and that simple models relying on only one or two behavioral domains (e.g., driving characteristics, demographics) to explain DUI relapse are insufficient to account for the DUI behavior of offenders. To advance our understanding of DUI relapse, we argue for development and testing of multifactorial models focusing on the interplay of legal, social and psychological factors that describe and explain relapse among DUI offenders. By recognizing the heterogeneity within the offender population it will be easier for researchers and clinicians to identify subgroups that are at high-risk for relapse and which should be targeted by prevention and intervention programs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background:: Drinking and driving has been identified as one of the most important contributors of motor vehicle fatalities. This paper addressed the existing gap in our public health knowledge regarding the current prevalence of driving after drinking and how this has changed over the past decade. Methods:: Prevalence rates of drinking and driving in 2001–2002, and changes in those prevalence rates between 1991–1992 and 2001–2002 were examined in two large nationally representative surveys of the U.S. population. Results:: Overall, the prevalence of driving after drinking was 2.9% in 2001–2002 representing approximately six million U.S. adults. This rate was about three quarters of the rate observed in 1991–1992 (3.7%), reflecting a 22% reduction. Generally, the male–female differentials in the rate of driving after drinking decreased over the past decade. However, the sex ratios increased substantially for underaged youth over the past decade, reflecting the sharp decrease in prevalence of driving after drinking among 18–20-year-old women. Constant and emerging subgroups at high risk for drinking and driving included Whites, Native Americans, males, underaged young adults and 21–25-year-olds. Conclusions:: The results of this study highlighted the need to continue to monitor prevalence and changes in driving after drinking. Results are discussed in the context of strengthening existing prevention and intervention efforts and developing new programs with the sociodemographic differentials observed in this study in mind. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol is among the most common and serious alcohol-related problems experienced by US college students. Community-based prevention trials using environmental approaches to DUI prevention have been effective in reducing DUI. Such interventions remain untested in college settings. This study is the first to test the efficacy of an environmental prevention campaign to reduce DUI among college students.We used a quasi-experimental non-equivalent comparison group design to test the efficacy of the DUI prevention intervention. Students at the experimental university were exposed to a DUI prevention intervention that included a social marketing campaign, a media advocacy campaign and increased law enforcement (DUI checkpoints and roving DUI patrols).Students from two large public universities located along the US/Mexico border participated in the seven-semester study.In total, 4832 college students took part.Using telephone interviews of randomly selected students, we took pre- and postintervention measures of self-reported DUI.Self-reported DUI (past year) decreased significantly from pre-test to post-test (odds ratio = 0.55) at the intervention school, whereas rates at the comparison campus remained stable. The campus–intervention interaction was statistically significant (P < 0.05), suggesting that the campaign led to the observed change in DUI.Environmental DUI campaigns similar to those validated in community prevention trials can be effective in college settings. Further research, however, is needed to determine the robustness of the changes associated with such campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]