HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Read responses to this article Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Shults, R A Articles by Sehgal, M Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Shults, R A Articles by Sehgal, M

Association between state level drinking and driving countermeasures and self reported alcohol impaired driving

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia

Correspondence and requests for reprints to:
Dr Ruth A Shults, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4770 Buford Highway, NE, MS K-63, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724, USA;
ras1{at}cdc.gov

Objectives: In 1999, alcohol related motor vehicle crashes in the United States claimed 15 786 lives and injured more than 300 000 persons. Drinking and driving behavior is shaped by individual and environmental level influences. In this study, the association between each state's driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) countermeasures and self reported alcohol impaired driving was explored.

Methods: Mothers Against Drunk Driving's (MADD's) Rating the States 2000 survey, which graded states on their DUI countermeasures from 1996–99, was used as an index of each state's comprehensive DUI prevention activities. Information on alcohol impaired driving from residents of each state was obtained from the 1997 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. The association between the MADD state grades and alcohol impaired driving was assessed using multiple logistic regression.

Results: Of the 64 162 BRFSS respondents who reported drinking any alcohol during the past month, 2.1% of women and 5.8% of men reported at least one episode of alcohol impaired driving in the past month. Those living in states with a MADD grade of "D" were 60% more likely to report alcohol impaired driving than those from states with a MADD grade of "A" (odds ratio 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 2.1). The association existed for men and women.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that stronger state level DUI countermeasures are associated with lower rates of self reported alcohol impaired driving.

Keywords: alcohol drinking; automobile driving; accident prevention; legislation

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; BAC, blood alcohol concentration; BRFSS, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; DUI, driving under the influence of alcohol; MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. F. Nelson, T. S. Naimi, R. D. Brewer, and H. Wechsler The State Sets the Rate: The Relationship Among State-Specific College Binge Drinking, State Binge Drinking Rates, and Selected State Alcohol Control Policies Am J Public Health, March 1, 2005; 95(3): 441 - 446. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Horan and S. Mallonee Injury Surveillance Epidemiol. Rev., August 1, 2003; 25(1): 24 - 42. [Full Text] [PDF]

eLetters: