NCJ Number
192947
Journal
Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 36 Issue: 13 Dated: 2001 Pages: 1923-1957
Date Published
2001
Length
35 pages
Annotation
Through a literature review and an assessment of data from the Canadian Province of Ontario, this study examined whether the consumption of alcohol was sensitive to the price of alcohol and whether the occurrence of drunk driving was sensitive to the level of alcohol consumption.
Abstract
This study first used graphic analysis and correlation techniques to delineate the basic relationships between price and consumption, "heavy drinking," and drunk driving. Multiple regression techniques were used to model the relationship between price of alcohol and drunk driving, controlling for the effect of extraneous factors. Researchers conducted cross-sectional analyses, using data for the 49 counties of Ontario for 1989, as well as time-series analyses that used Ontario Provincial annual data for 1972 to 1990. The study examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-involved traffic crashes and alcohol-involved traffic offenses, as well as the relationship between the number of high-risk drinkers in the population and alcohol-involved traffic crashes and offenses. While controlling for income, the proportion of young males in the population, changes in the minimum drinking age, and other confounding variables, the study found that increasing the price of alcohol had a significant effect in reducing alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents and alcohol-related traffic offenses. Overall, the evidence strongly supported the view that alcohol tax and pricing policies can be used to reduce the extent of drunk driving. 4 tables, 7 figures, a glossary, and 64 references