ALCOHOL AND AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS

This paper presents the results of a study made of the subjective and objective symptoms due to a consumption of alcohol correlated with chemical examination of the percent of alcohol in urine or blood. Also included is an analysis of 119 automobile accidents involving injury or death to 216 persons. The following conclusions are made: (1) Experiments indicate a measurable loss of efficiency and judgment, even when small amounts of alcohol are accumulated in the blood or urine; (2) Considering a person sober as long as he can still walk and talk is responsible for the small value of present day statistics regarding the relationship of alcohol to automobile accidents; (3) By analyzing consecutive accident cases involving injury and death, it is possible to throw light on the high incidence of weekend accidents and night accidents; (4) In this series the drinking pedestrian was concerned with many accidents; and (5) It is recommended that the chemical test for alcohol, which has been proven to be practical in confirming drunkenness and thus aiding in the conviction of drunken drivers, be adopted universally, at least to confirm the observations by physical examination.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Reprinted from the Journal of the American Medical Association, September 8, 1934, Vol. 103, pp 739-741.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Medical Association

  535 North Dearborn Street
  Chicago, IL  United States  60610
• Authors:
  • Heise, H A
• Publication Date: 1934

Media Info

• Features: Tables;
• Pagination: 7 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Blood alcohol levels; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Fatalities; Impaired drivers; Injuries; Night; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Traffic crashes; Urine; Weekends
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver impairment
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00451592
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: Reprint, HS-039 009
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Dec 31 1985 12:00AM