Title: Traffic and Alcohol: A study on alcohol-related traffic accident deaths in Sao Paulo
Abstract: Alcohol consumption by drivers is one of the main causes of traffic accidents, often with fatal victims. Brazilian studies which relate the association of alcohol and traffic deaths are rare. These data are important for the implementation of public policies capable of diminishing the number of victims and also the elevated costs of accidents. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of alcohol use by fatal victims of traffic accidents autopsied at the Medico-Legal Institute of Sao Paulo State. Data on 3,042 victims killed in traffic accidents, between January and December of 2005, were collected. Gender, age, type of accident (collision or pedestrian X vehicle accident) and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) were studied. In the sample studied, 43.95% of the victims had a positive BAC, with a mean value of 0.17%. Men represented 85.9% of the cases, and 47.8% of those had consumed alcohol. Among women, 21.2% had a positive BAC at the time of death. Almost half (48.5%) of the victims were aged 25 to 44. There was a statistically significant difference between pedestrians and car occupants, in regards to age and BAC distribution. From the study we concluded that nearly half of all fatal victims had ingested alcohol before the accidents, that the mean BAC was almost 3 times the maximum legal limit for driving in Brazil (0.06%) and that pedestrians who were killed were, on average, 10 years older and had drunk 1.2 times the amount that car occupants had.
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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