ETHNICITY AND ALCOHOL-RELATED FATALITIES: 1990 TO 1994

This paper contains a preliminary analysis of just under 200,000 records of fatally injured road users drawn from the 1990 to 1994 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). The analysis of ethnic factors in fatal crashes was made possible by the recent matching of death certificate data provided by the National Center for Health Statistics with the FARS cases. The total amount of driving and, therefore, the total exposure to crash risk varies significantly between ethnic groups because of socioeconomic differences. Therefore, it is difficult to compare the relative involvement of ethnic groups in all fatal crashes without adequate data on the vehicle miles of travel (VMT), which are generally not available. However, it is possible to compare the percentage of each ethnic group's fatal crashes that are alcohol-related because this minimizes the significance of driving exposure. This comparison clearly shows that Caucasian Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans have approximately the same proportion of alcohol-related fatalities. In contrast, Native Americans have a substantially higher percentage of alcohol-related fatalities, and Asian-Pacific Islander Americans have a substantially lower percentage of such fatalities. Data are corrected for differences between ethnic groups in age distribution and gender. These data, as well as the distribution of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians-cyclists among ethnic groups are provided in tables. Also shown in tables are the relationship of the driver drinking at the time of the crash relative to safety belt usage, license status, prior DUIs (Driving Under the Influence), number of passengers, and age of vehicle.

• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/1638
• Corporate Authors:

  Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

  Center for Alcohol Policy Analysis, 8201 Corporate Drive, Suite 220
  Landover, MD  United States  20785

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Voas, R B
  • Tippetts, A S
  • Fisher, D A
• Publication Date: 2000-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 26 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cyclists; Drivers; Drunk driving; Ethnic groups; Fatalities; Passengers; Pedestrians; Seat belts; Tables (Data)
• Identifier Terms: Fatality Analysis Reporting System
• Subject Areas: Highways; Passenger Transportation; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I81: Accident Statistics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00796870
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-809 068
• Files: HSL, NTL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 1 2000 12:00AM