Australian studies of alcohol involvement in pedestrian crashes are reviewed. The paper tabulates the results of these studies with respect to distribution of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), age and sex of intoxicated pedestrians, relationship between age and BAC among both males and females, time of day and day of week of crashes involving intoxicated pedestrians, pedestrian movement and pre-crash drinking patterns.
Overall only seven studies were identified. These indicated that 20-30% of pedestrian casualties had a BAC in excess of 150 mg/dL, with alcohol involvement being greater among fatalities. Few of the seven studies presented results pertaining to the other factors listed above. Those that did found that males comprised 60-70% of casualties with a known BAC and 80-90% of those with a BAC exceeding 150 mg/dL. Crashes occurring at night or on weekends were most likely to involve intoxicated pedestrians. Intoxicated pedestrians were hit most commonly as they crossed a road some distance from a traffic control; in those instances where the site had a traffic control, it was rarely used correctly. The one study that reported pre-crash drinking behaviour of intoxicated pedestrians found that about two-thirds had been drinking beer and about one-half had been drinking in a hotel.
The paper concludes that knowledge of the characteristics of alcohol-related pedestrian crashes in Australia is inadequate; recommendations are made to address these inadequacies.O.T. Holubowyczhttp://trove.nla.gov.au/work/2117963
