AN EVALUATION OF FATAL ACCIDENTS IN NEW YORK STATE INVOLVING DRINKING DRIVERS 20 YEARS OLD AND YOUNGER

As a preliminary effort in evaluating the role of use of alcohol by drivers 18, 19 and 20 years of age, fatal accident cases for the year 1967 were obtained. Of the 2,595 fatal accident cases in 1967, 131 were outcharged and thus not available to us, leaving 2,464 for study purposes. These cases were studied to determine the possible effect on accident involvement of use of alcohol. Fatal accident cases were used because they are of a manageable number and also typically have fairly comprehensive case files including police, medical and hearing reports. Based on general files information and analysis of the fatal accident cases for 1967, we have found the following: (1) Of the 2,464 fatal accident cases studied, 331, or 13.43%, involved apparent use of alcohol by one or more drivers; (2) Of the 331 cases, 72, or 21.75%, involved drivers 20 years of age or younger who apparently had been drinking; (3) Drivers aged 18, 19 and 20 comprise 6.49% of the total driving population; (4) This group comprises 20.81% of all drinking drivers involved in fatal accidents; (5) Drivers aged 21 and over comprise 93.51% of the total driving population; (6) This group comprises 79.19% of all drinking drivers involved in a fatal accident; (7) Of the total of 72 young drivers involved in a fatal accident in 1967 after consumption of alcoholic beverages, 10, or 13.89% were from bordering States or Canada; and (8) Of the total of 331 fatal cases, only one case involved use of marijuana, concurrently with alcohol, by a male motorcycle operator, age 27.

• Corporate Authors:

  New York State Department of Motor Vehicles

  Governor Nelson A Rockefeller Empire State Plaza
  Albany, NY  United States  12228
• Authors:
  • Riley, R K
• Publication Date: 1968-12

Media Info

• Pagination: 9 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adolescents; Drivers; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Evaluation; Fatalities; Marijuana; Teenage drivers
• Geographic Terms: New York (State)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00453144
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-039 308
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 28 1986 12:00AM