DRINKING INVOLVMENT AND AGE OF YOUNG DRIVERS IN FATAL ACCIDENTS

THE 1968 AND 1969 FILES FROM THE MICHIGAN FATAL ACCIDENT DATA BANK WERE INTERROGATED TO STUDY THE INVOLVEMENT OF DRIVERS IN FATAL ACCIDENTS AS A FUNCTION OF THEIR AGE. A DUAL PEAK WAS FOUND WHICH HAD NOT BEEN NOTED PREVIOUSLY. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED BY SEVERAL COLLEAGUES THAT THIS PHENOMENON MIGHT SOMEHOW BE CONNECTED WITH THE LEGAL DRINKING AGE. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA LED TO THE SPECULATION THAT YOUNG DRIVERS SEEMS TO HAVE A PEAK FATAL ACCIDENT INVOLVEMENT (WITHOUT ALCOHOL) AT THE AGE OF 18 YEARS. FOLLOWING THAT AGE, INVOLVEMENT DROPS OFF RATHER SHARPLY. FATAL ACCIDENTS AMONG DRINKING DRIVERS PEAK AT AGE 21, AND THIS PEAK HOLDS THROUGH TO AGE 22. IT TAKES A COUPLE OF YEARS FOR THE YOUNG DRIVER TO LEARN THE DRIVING TASK. THEN AFTER 18 HIS FATAL ACCIDENT INVOLVEMENT RECORD IMPROVES UNTIL HE REACHES THE LEGAL DRINKING AGE; IT THEN TAKES A COUPLE OF YEARS (THROUGH AGES 21 AND 22) FOR HIM TO LEARN TO DRINK.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Hit Lab RepTS, PP 13-14, 5 FIG
• Corporate Authors:

  Highway Safety Research Institute

  Huron Parkway and Baxter Road
  Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48109
• Authors:
  • O'Day, J
• Publication Date: 1970-10

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adolescents; Age; Drivers; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Fatalities; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver age
• Old TRIS Terms: Minors
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223399
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 10 1971 12:00AM