Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving

Abstract

Background: Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes are a major public health problem, resulting in 15,786 deaths and more than 300,000 injuries in 1999. This report presents the results of systematic reviews of the effectiveness and economic efficiency of selected population-based interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. Methods: The Guide to Community Preventive Services's methods for systematic reviews were used to evaluate the effectiveness of five interventions to decrease alcohol-impaired driving, using changes in alcohol-related crashes as the primary outcome measure. Results: Strong evidence was found for the effectiveness of .08 blood alcohol concentration laws, minimum legal drinking age laws, and sobriety checkpoints. Sufficient evidence was found for the effectiveness of lower blood alcohol concentration laws for young and inexperienced drivers and of intervention training programs for servers of alcoholic beverages. Additional information is provided about the applicability, other effects, and barriers to implementation of these interventions. Conclusion: These reviews form the basis of the recommendations by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services presented elsewhere in this supplement. They can help decision makers identify and implement effective interventions that fit within an overall strategy to prevent impaired driving.