A Comparison of Alcohol Involvement in Pedestrians and Pedestrian Casualties [Conference Paper]

Blomberg, Richard D.; Fell, James C.; Anderson, Theodore E. · 1979 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This 1979 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) addresses the prevalence and impact of alcohol consumption in pedestrian accidents. Motivated by inconsistent prior data regarding alcohol involvement in pedestrian fatalities and a lack of controlled studies on non-fatal injuries, the research aimed to determine the percentage and relative risk of alcohol involvement in adult pedestrian crashes, identify unique behavioral errors associated with intoxication, and characterize the victims. The study sought to fill gaps in understanding whether alcohol plays a causal role in pedestrian accidents and how it compares to non-alcohol-related incidents. The research was conducted in New Orleans between 1975 and 1976, utilizing a controlled epidemiological design. Data were collected from two primary accident groups: 86 fatally injured pedestrians (ages 14+) who died within 24 hours of a crash between 1972 and 1976, and 180 non-fatally injured pedestrians treated at Charity Hospital between 1975 and 1976. To establish relative risk, the study employed two control groups: an "Accident Site Control Group" of 1,208 pedestrians sampled at crash locations within 30 minutes of the original accidents, and a "Random Site Control Group" of 80 pedestrians sampled at randomly selected street locations. Blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were measured via post-mortem testing for fatalities, hospital admission tests for injuries, and breath tests for controls. The results indicated that approximately half of both fatally and non-fatally injured pedestrians had positive BACs, demonstrating that alcohol involvement in non-fatal crashes is as significant as in fatal ones. A substantial proportion of victims in both groups exhibited very high BACs. Relative risk analysis showed that accident involvement risk increases at BAC levels ≥0.10% and accelerates rapidly at higher levels, depending on the control group used. Behavioral analysis revealed that while major accident types did not differ significantly, pedestrians with high BACs were more likely to be judged culpable for the accident and more likely to strike vehicles or be involved in "non-specific" crash types. Alcohol involvement was more prevalent among males, peaked in the 30–59 age group, and clustered during nighttime hours and weekends. The study concludes that excessive alcohol use by pedestrians is a major highway safety problem, accounting for approximately half of all adult pedestrian accidents. The findings suggest that intoxicated pedestrians exhibit distinct behavioral errors, such as crossing in unexpected locations or walking into traffic, which increase their culpability. The authors recommend further research into these behavioral patterns and propose countermeasures including "Walking While Intoxicated" laws, public education campaigns, targeted police detection based on victim profiles, engineering modifications like tilted curbs, and potential reductions in beverage alcohol content. The study underscores the need for a multi-faceted approach to reduce alcohol-related pedestrian crashes.

Key finding

Approximately half of both fatally and non-fatally injured adult pedestrians had positive blood alcohol concentrations, with relative risk of accident involvement accelerating rapidly at BAC levels of 0.10 percent and higher.

Methodology

field_study

Sample size: 266

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• alcohol