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Proportion of injured alcohol-impaired drivers subsequently convicted of an impaired driving criminal code offence in British Columbia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Roy A. Purssell ,
Mark Yarema ,
Jean Wilson ,
Ming Fang ,
Richard Simons ,
Sharon Kasic ,
Riyad B. Abu-Laban ,
Jeffrey Brubacher  and
Ioana Lupu
Roy A. Purssell*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Vancouver Hospital; Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Mark Yarema
Affiliation:
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, Phoenix, Ariz
Jean Wilson
Affiliation:
Road Safety Research, Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, North Vancouver, BC
Ming Fang
Affiliation:
Road Safety Research, Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
Richard Simons
Affiliation:
Vancouver Hospital; Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia
Sharon Kasic
Affiliation:
BC Trauma Registry
Riyad B. Abu-Laban
Affiliation:
Vancouver Hospital; Assistant Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia
Jeffrey Brubacher
Affiliation:
Vancouver Hospital; Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia and the Vancouver General Hospital Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Education, Vancouver, BC
Ioana Lupu
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
*
Emergency Department, Vancouver Hospital, 855 West 12th Ave., Vancouver BC V5Z 1M9; 604 875–5242, fax 604 875–4872, rpurssel@vanhosp.bc.ca

Abstract

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Background:

Alcohol is a frequent contributing factor to motor vehicle collision injuries. Our objective was to determine the proportion of intoxicated drivers hospitalized following motor vehicle crashes who were subsequently convicted of an impaired driving criminal code offence.

Methods:

We reviewed British Columbia Trauma Registry records from Jan. 1, 1992, to Mar. 31, 2000, and identified drivers of motor vehicles who were hospitalized for treatment of crash-related injuries. Patient identifiers were then used to link with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia’s (ICBC) contraventions database and the ICBC Traffic Accident System collisions database.

Results:

Of 6067 patients identified in the Trauma Registry, 4042 had not been administered a blood ethanol test, 209 had no driver’s licence match in the relevant databases and 119 died, leaving 1697 eligible patients. Mean age was 34 years, and 79.6% were male. The average Injury Severity Score was 20, the average hospital stay was 14 days and, among ethanol-positive patients, the mean ethanol level was 34.0 mmol/L (156.4 mg/dL). In patients with levels >17.3 mmol/L, the police had listed ethanol as a contributing factor in 70.6% of cases. Despite this, only 11.0% were convicted of impaired driving and 8.4% of another criminal offence; 10.7% received a 24-hour roadside prohibition, 3.9% received a 90-day administrative driving prohibition and 25.0% were convicted of a contravention of the Motor Vehicle Act. Forty-one percent were not convicted of any offence at all.

Conclusions:

Intoxicated drivers in British Columbia requiring hospitalization as a result of alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes are seldom convicted of impaired driving or other criminal code offences.

Keywords

alcohol, ethyl, bloodautomobile driving, alcoholic intoxication, bloodaccidents, traffic
Type
EM Advances • Innovations En MU
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , March 2004 , pp. 80 - 88
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2004

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