Buzzed Drivers Still Cause More Accidents
According to a study from the University of California in San Diego, drivers with a very low blood alcohol content, or BAC still cause significantly more fatal accidents than sober drivers.
According to a study from the University of California in San Diego, drivers with a very low blood alcohol content or BAC, are more at fault in fatal accidents than the sober drivers they crash into.
Researchers analyzed data from the US Fatality Analysis Reporting System on over 570 thousand fatal crashes that happened between 1994 and 2011.
The study focused on drivers involved in collisions where one of the drivers had a BAC less than point 08, which is the legal limit to drive in the United States.
Results of the study show that accident investigators are 46 percent more likely to blame the collision on drivers with a BAC of only point 01.
David Phillips, sociologist at UC San Diego and lead author of the study said: “The law should reflect what official accident investigators are seeing. We find no safe combination of drinking and driving – no point at which it is harmless to consume alcohol and get behind the wheel of a car.”
Over 100 different countries have set their legal BAC at point 05, and the researchers are calling for the US to change the law based on the findings of their study.
According to a study from the University of California in San Diego, drivers with a very low blood alcohol content or BAC, are more at fault in fatal accidents than the sober drivers they crash into.
Researchers analyzed data from the US Fatality Analysis Reporting System on over 570 thousand fatal crashes that happened between 1994 and 2011.
The study focused on drivers involved in collisions where one of the drivers had a BAC less than point 08, which is the legal limit to drive in the United States.
Results of the study show that accident investigators are 46 percent more likely to blame the collision on drivers with a BAC of only point 01.
David Phillips, sociologist at UC San Diego and lead author of the study said: “The law should reflect what official accident investigators are seeing. We find no safe combination of drinking and driving – no point at which it is harmless to consume alcohol and get behind the wheel of a car.”
Over 100 different countries have set their legal BAC at point 05, and the researchers are calling for the US to change the law based on the findings of their study.