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Table 1 Driver and crash characteristics by drug and alcohol use for drivers of passenger vehicles involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2008–2013

From: Restraint use and risky driving behaviors across drug types and drug and alcohol combinations for drivers involved in a fatal motor vehicle collision on U.S. roadways

 

No drug n (%)

Drugs only n (%)

Alcohol only n (%)

Drug + Alcohol n (%)a

Total

Chi square

 

36,115 (45.2)

12,771 (16.0)

18,986 (23.8)

12,060 (15.1)

79,932

 

Driver characteristics

Driver age (years)

     

8552.8 (<0.0001)

 15–17

1764 (4.9)

411 (3.2)

273 (1.4)

247 (2.1)

2695 (3.4)

 

 18–19

2600 (7.2)

874 (6.8)

922 (4.9)

732 (6.1)

5128 (6.4)

 

 20–24

4287 (11.9)

1925 (15.1)

4106 (21.6)

2811 (23.3)

13,129 (16.4)

 

 25–44

9763 (27.0)

4954 (38.8)

8815 (46.4)

5673 (47.4)

29,205 (36.5)

 

 45–64

9806 (27.2)

3406 (26.7)

4039 (21.3)

2382 (19.8)

19,633 (24.6)

 

 65+

7883 (21.8)

1192 (9.3)

823 (4.3)

213 (1.8)

10,111 (12.7)

 

Driver gender

     

2446.7 (<0.0001)

 Male

23,160 (64.1)

8614 (67.5)

15,550 (81.9)

9590 (79.5)

56,914 (71.2)

 

 Female

12,951 (35.9)

4154 (32.5)

3430 (18.1)

2465 (20.4)

23,000 (28.8)

 

Injury severity

     

1686.5 (<0.0001)

 Not injured

5192 (15.1)

1288 (10.5)

1246 (6.8)

754 (6.5)

8480 (11.0)

 

 Non-incapacitating injury

2808 (8.2)

1080 (8.8)

1336 (7.3)

1067 (9.2)

6291 (8.2)

 

 Incapacitating injury

1954 (5.7)

1153 (9.4)

1211 (6.6)

1232 (10.6)

5550 (7.2)

 

 Fatal injury

24,497 (71.1)

8726 (71.3)

14,625 (79.4)

8606 (73.8)

56,454 (73.5)

 

Driver restraint use

     

7181.9 (<0.0001)

 Belted

24,212 (67.1)

6539 (51.2)

6765 (35.6)

3976 (33.0)

41,492 (51.9)

 

 Not belted

9616 (26.6)

1059 (40.5)

10,471 (55.2)

6878 (57.0)

32,138 (40.2)

 

Number of occupants

     

319.7 (<0.0001)

 One (Driver only)

20,030 (55.5)

7340 (57.5)

10,605 (55.9)

6535 (54.2)

44,510 (55.7)

 

 Two (Driver with one passenger)

6004 (16.6)

2329 (18.2)

2969 (15.6)

2324 (19.3)

13,626 (17.1)

 

 Three or more

3726 (10.3)

1370 (16.5)

1762 (9.3)

1423 (17.2)

8281 (10.4)

 

Crash characteristics

Violation charged

 Sign

2262 (6.3)

783 (6.1)

1084 (5.7)

817 (6.8)

4946 (6.2)

15.1 (0.0018)

 Turning

1604 (4.4)

541 (4.2)

861 (4.5)

442 (3.7)

3448 (4.3)

16.2 (0.0011)

 Passing

2073 (5.7)

1074 (8.4)

1809 (9.5)

1006 (8.3)

5962 (7.5)

302.7 (<0.0001)

 Reckless driving

3826 (10.6)

2292 (18.0)

4376 (23.1)

3041 (25.2)

13,535 (16.9)

2134.1 (<0.0001)

 Speed related

1491 (4.1)

673 (5.3)

1767 (9.3)

1142 (9.5)

5073 (6.4)

801.6 (<0.0001)

 Lane

3308 (9.2)

1324 (10.4)

2522 (13.3)

1488 (12.4)

8642 (10.8)

254.3 (<0.0001)

 Any moving violation

12,010 (33.3)

5393 (42.2)

9720 (51.2)

6182 (51.3)

33,305 (41.7)

2219.0 (<0.0001)

Number of vehicles in crash

     

6230.4 (<0.0001)

 Single vehicle

13,014 (36.0)

5416 (42.4)

12,554 (66.1)

7916 (65.6)

38,900 (48.7)

 

 Two vehicles

18,470 (51.2)

5922 (46.4)

5311 (28.0)

3336 (27.6)

33,039 (41.3)

 

 Multiple vehicles

4631 (12.8)

1433 (11.2)

1121 (5.9)

808 (6.7)

7993 (10.0)

 

Manner of collision

     

6093.8 (<0.0001)

Not a collision of vehicle in transport

14,647 (40.6)

5978 (46.8)

13,334 (70.2)

8433 (69.9)

42,392 (53.0)

 

 Rollover

2175 (6.0)

910 (7.1)

2177 (11.5)

1262 (10.5)

6524 (8.2)

 

 Tree

2266 (6.3)

1139 (8.9)

2406 (12.7)

1629 (13.5)

7440 (9.3)

 

 Pedestrian

2467 (6.8)

562 (4.4)

511 (2.7)

311 (2.6)

3851 (4.8)

 

 Other

7739 (21.4)

3367 (26.4)

8240 (43.4)

5231 (43.37)

24,577 (30.1)

 

Collision of vehicle in transport

21,436 (59.4)

6785 (53.1)

5640 (29.7)

3624 (30.1)

37,485 (46.9)

 

 Head-on

2735 (7.6)

865 (6.8)

960 (5.1)

524 (4.3)

5084 (6.4)

 

 Rear-end

6346 (17.6)

2699 (21.1)

2147 (11.3)

1393 (11.6)

12,585 (15.7)

 

 Angle

10,754 (29.8)

2691 (21.1)

2133 (11.2)

1358 (11.3)

16,936 (21.2)

 

 Sideswipe

1417 (3.9)

491 (3.8)

366 (1.9)

322 (2.7)

2596 (3.3)

 

 Other

184 (0.5)

39 (0.3)

34 (0.2)

27 (0.2)

284 (0.4)

 

Time of the crash

     

13,520.2 (<0.0001)

 Day

22,107 (61.2)

7871 (61.6)

3866 (20.4)

2867 (23.8)

36,711 (45.9)

 

 Night

12,124 (33.6)

4556 (35.6)

14,624 (77.0)

8941 (74.1)

40,245 (50.4)

 

Weekday/weekend

     

4382.8 (<0.0001)

 Weekday

23,726 (65.7)

8634 (67.7)

8048 (42.4)

5499 (45.6)

45,907 (57.4)

 

 Weekend

11,803 (32.7)

4034 (31.6)

10,807 (56.9)

6499 (53.9)

33,143 (41.5)

 

Speed

     

6359.1 (<0.0001)

 No

29,138 (80.7)

9222 (72.2)

10,293 (54.21)

6052 (50.2)

54,705 (68.4)

 

 Yes

6409 (27.3)

3200 (25.1)

8196 (43.2)

5708 (47.3)

23,513 (29.4)

 

Ejection

     

3921.4 (<0.0001)

 Ejected

3956 (11.0)

2105 (16.5)

5669 (29.9)

3564 (29.6)

15,294 (19.1)

 

 Not ejected

32,092 (88.7)

10,628 (83.2)

13,250 (69.8)

8443 (70.0)

64,413 (80.6)

 
  1. a9.1 % are police reported for alcohol involvement