Speeding and impaired driving in fatal crashes—Results from in-depth investigations

BackgroundCannabis use has been linked to impaired driving and fatal accidents. Prior evidence suggests the potential for population-wide effects of the annual cannabis celebration on April 20th (‘4/20’), but evidence to date is limited.MethodsWe used data from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System for the years 1975–2016 to estimate the impact of ‘4/20’ on drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes occurring between 16:20 and 23:59 hours in the USA. We compared the effects of 4/20 with those for other major holidays, and evaluated whether the impact of ‘4/20’ had changed in recent years.ResultsBetween 1992 and 2016, ‘4/20’ was associated with an increase in the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes (IRR 1.12, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.28) relative to control days 1 week before and after, but not when compared with control days 1 and 2 weeks before and after (IRR 1.05, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.28) or all other days of the year (IRR 0.98, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.10). Across all years we found little evidence to distinguish excess drivers involved in fatal crashes on 4/20 from routine daily variations.ConclusionsThere is little evidence to suggest population-wide effects of the annual cannabis holiday on the number of drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes.

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The Annual Cannabis Holiday and Fatal Traffic Crashes

10.31219/osf.io/tzcsy ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Sam Harper ◽

Adam Palayew

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Rate Ratio ◽

Reporting System ◽

Incidence Rate Ratio ◽

The United States ◽

Traffic Crashes ◽

Impaired Driving ◽

Fatal Crashes ◽

Before And After ◽

The Impact

Background: Cannabis use has been linked to impaired driving and fatal accidents. Prior evidence suggests the potential for population-wide effects of the annual cannabis celebration on April 20th ("4/20"), but evidence to date is limited.Methods: We used data from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System for the years 1975-2016 to estimate the impact of "4/20" on drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes occurring between 1620h and 2359h in the United States. We compared the effects of 4/20 to those for other major holidays, and evaluated whether the impact of "4/20" had changed in recent years. Results: Between 1992-2016 "4/20" was associated with an increase in the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes (Incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.12, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.28) relative to control days one week before and after, but not when compared with control days one and two weeks before and after (IRR 1.05, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.28) or all days of the year (IRR 0.98, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.10). Across all years we found little evidence to distinguish excess drivers involved in fatal crashes on 4/20 from routine daily variations. Conclusions: There is little evidence to suggest population-wide effects of the annual cannabis holiday on the number of drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes.

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Implementation of Road Safety Countermeasures in Four Cities to Reduce the Harmful Effects of Alcohol: A Progress Report

10.21203/rs.3.rs-743896/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

James C Fell ◽

Tom Achoki ◽

William DeJong ◽

Deborah A. Fisher

Keyword(s):

Road Safety ◽

Driving Under The Influence ◽

Deterrent Effect ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Safety Measures ◽

Impaired Driving ◽

Program Participant ◽

Awareness Campaigns ◽

Fatal Crashes ◽

The City

Abstract BackgroundBeginning in 2016, the Anheuser-Busch InBev Foundation (ABIF) provided funding to six pilot cities to implement evidence-based interventions to reduce the harmful use of alcohol and its deleterious consequences such as alcohol-impaired driving. The cities receiving funding are Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, South Africa; Brasilia, Brazil; Columbus, Ohio, United States; Jiangshan, China; Leuven, Belgium; and Zacatecas, Mexico.MethodsFour of the city pilot coalitions are implementing a wide array of interventions to deter driving under the influence (DUI). Columbus made efforts to get more judges to apply Ohio’s alcohol ignition interlock law and implemented and evaluated a Safe Rides program. Brasilia increased the number of roadside checkpoints and planned an educational campaign about the dangers of impaired driving to be delivered at bars by firefighters and paramedics. Alexandra expanded and upgraded the Metropolitan Police Department’s Alcohol Evidence Center (AEC). In Zacatecas, among other interventions, a new Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) facility is being constructed to expedite case processing and adjudication.ResultsIn Columbus, the evaluation of the Safe Rides program showed an estimated reduction of 2.9 impaired driving crashes but also an average increase of 0.4 alcoholic drink per program participant. There was a reduction in harmful alcohol use of .02% in 2017 associated with the Safe Rides campaign, but with no carryover to 2018. In Brasilia, the combined effect of the road safety measures and other factors resulted in a 35% decrease in traffic deaths between 2016 and 2019. In Alexandra, there were 46 fatal crashes over the Easter weekend in 2018, 25 fatal crashes in 2019 (46% reduction), and 3 fatal crashes in 2020 (88% reduction from 2019). To date, Zacatecas’ road safety measures have not yet been evaluated.ConclusionsFull implementation of the city pilots’ planned road safety interventions has been slow, and presently the COVID-19 pandemic has halted most operations. Interim evaluations can be conducted once a pilot city’s countermeasures are fully implemented and have operated for at least one year. ABIF should continue to donate funds to increase or enhance evidence-based DUI enforcement strategies while also implementing awareness campaigns to inform the public and enhance the deterrent effect of those efforts.

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