The Alcohol-Crash Problem in Canada: 1999
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The Alcohol-Crash Problem in Canada: 1999 JANUARY 2002 TP 13883 E Aussi disponible en français Prepared by D.R. Mayhew, S. W. Brown and H.M. Simpson The Traffic Injury Research Foundation of Canada Ottawa, Ontario ABSTRACT This report describes the magnitude and characteristics of the alcohol-crash problem in Canada during 1999 as well as trends in the problem. Information contained in this report was drawn from two national databases compiled and maintained by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) and funded jointly by Transport Canada and the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA). One database contains information on persons fatally injured in motor vehicle crashes; the other has information on persons seriously injured in motor vehicle crashes. The title and contents of this report and the report last year differ from that of previous annual reports in this series produced by TIRF under funding from Transport Canada and CCMTA. Previous reports focussed exclusively on the alcohol-fatal crash problem, defined in terms of the number and percent of fatally injured drivers (and pedestrians) who had been drinking. The present report (as well as the one last year) also includes data on alcohol in fatally injured drivers and pedestrians but it extends information about the magnitude of the alcohol-crash problem in two ways: the report examines the number and percent of people who died in alcohol-related crashes; and it examines alcohol involvement in those crashes in which someone was seriously injured but not killed. Thus, in the report, various indicators are used to estimate the magnitude and extent of the alcohol-crash problem in Canada during 1999 as well as changes in the problem over the past few years. The indicators include: the number and percent of people who were killed in crashes that involved alcohol; the number and percent of fatally injured drivers who had been drinking; the number and percent of fatally injured pedestrians who had been drinking; and the number and percent of drivers in serious injury crashes that involved alcohol. As well, these indicators are presented separately for each province and territory. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................v 1.0 Introduction..............................................................................................................1 2.0 Data Sources and Indicators of the Alcohol-crash Problem .............................3 2.1 Sources of the Data ...............................................................................................3 2.1.1 The Fatality Database ............................................................................................ 4 2.1.2 The Serious Injury Database.................................................................................. 7 2.2 Indicators of the Problem...........................................................................................10 2.2.1 The number and percent of people killed in alcohol-related crashes ........... 11 2.2.2 The number and percent of fatally injured drivers who had been drinking ... 11 2.2.3 The number and percent of fatally injured pedestrians who had been drinking........................................................................................................ 11 2.2.4 The number and percent of drivers in serious injury crashes that involved alcohol..............................................................................................................12 3.0 Canada....................................................................................................................13 3.1 Deaths In Alcohol-Related Crashes......................................................................13 3.1.1 Victim age ........................................................................................................15 3.1.2 Gender.....................................................................................................15 3.1.3 Victim type................................................................................................16 3.1.4 Type of vehicle occupied..................................................................................16 3.2 Alcohol in Fatally Injured Drivers ................................................................................16 3.2.1 Age differences.........................................................................................18 3.2.2 Gender differences ..........................................................................................20 3.2.3 Vehicle differences...........................................................................................21 3.2.4 Collision differences .........................................................................................25 3.3 Alcohol In Fatally Injured Pedestrians ........................................................................26 3.3.1 Age differences ................................................................................................28 3.3.2 Gender differences ..........................................................................................29 3.3.3 Jurisdictional differences..................................................................................31 3.4 Drivers Involved in Alcohol-related Serious Injury Crashes........................................31 3.4.1 Driver age.........................................................................................................33 3.4.2 Driver gender ...................................................................................................34 3.4.3 Type of vehicle driven ......................................................................................34 3.4.4 Type of collision ...............................................................................................34 3.5 Trends in the Alcohol-crash Problem .........................................................................34 3.5.1 Deaths in alcohol-related crashes: 1995-1999.................................................34 3.5.2 Fatally injured drivers: 1987-1999....................................................................36 3.5.3 Fatally injured pedestrians: 1987-1999...........................................................37 3.5.4 Drivers in serious injury crashes: 1995-1999 ...................................................38 4.0 British Columbia.................................................................................................41 5.0 Alberta..................................................................................................................53 6.0 Saskatchewan.....................................................................................................65 7.0 Manitoba ..............................................................................................................77 8.0 Ontario .................................................................................................................89 9.0 Quebec...............................................................................................................101 10.0 New Brunswick.................................................................................................113 11.0 Nova Scotia .......................................................................................................125 12.0 Prince Edward Island .......................................................................................137 13.0 Newfoundland...................................................................................................146 14.0 Yukon Territory.................................................................................................158 15.0 Northwest Territories and Nunavut ................................................................166 16.0 References ........................................................................................................171 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Traffic Injury Research Foundation of Canada (TIRF) has compiled data on alcohol use among motor vehicle fatalities since 1974. Beginning in 1995, TIRF has also complied data on alcohol use in serious injury motor vehicle crashes. All aspects of this work - but, in particular, the development, maintenance, and extension of the Fatality Database and the Serious Injury Database - would have been impossible without the generous support and co-operation of sponsors and collaborating agencies. The maintenance and extension of the Fatality Database and the Serious Injury Database are co-funded by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) and the Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation Directorate of Transport Canada. We gratefully acknowledge the following individuals, their organizations and members of their staff for ensuring that complete and accurate data were made available to us: D. Hyde L.W. Campbell Vice President Chief Coroner Public Affairs/Corporate Marketing Office of the Chief Coroner Insurance Corp. of British Columbia British Columbia J. Espie-Lefebvre G. Dowling, M.D. Executive Director Chief Medical Examiner Driver Safety and Research/ Alberta Attorney General Transportation Safety Initiatives Alberta Transportation D. McNaughton J. Nyssen, M.D. Traffic Accident Information System Chief Coroner Saskatchewan Government Insurance Saskatchewan Justice M. Zyluk T. Balachandra, M.D. Asst. Deputy Minister/ Chief Medical Examiner Registrar