Traffic Safety and Alcohol Regulation: A Symposium, June 5-6 2006, Irvine, California. Transportation Research Circular E-C123

摘要

Alcohol-impaired driving is a major threat to traffic safety. Considerable progress has been made in recent decades in countries throughout the industrialized world. In the last several years, however, this progress has stalled, and in some countries, progress has eroded. In the United States, in 2005 almost 17,000 people died in alcohol-related crashes. That number has been virtually unchanged for the past decade. Well-known and effective approaches to impaired driving involve enforcement and deterrence to keep drinkers from driving. Another set of promising strategies attempt to reduce alcohol consumption through regulation of the sale and service of alcohol and thus make it less likely that potential drivers will drink enough to be impaired. The most well-known alcohol regulation that has made a major contribution to traffic safety has been the establishment of 21 as the drinking age throughout the United States. By reducing alcohol consumption among immature and inexperienced drivers, tens of thousands of traffic fatalities have been prevented. Other alcohol regulatory strategies can make alcohol more expensive or reduce its availability in risky situations.