1. Alcohol-impaired motorcyclists versus car drivers: A comparison of crash involvement and legal consequence from adjudication data.
- Author
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Yang, Jie, Guo, Xiaoyu, Xu, Minchuan, Wang, Lusheng, and Lord, Dominique
- Subjects
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DRUNK driving , *TRAFFIC safety , *DRUGGED driving , *AUTOMOBILES , *MOTORCYCLISTS , *BLOOD alcohol - Abstract
• Data extraction and analyses on DUI are from documents of adjudication decisions. • A positive association is revealed between crash involvement and BAC level. • BAC level plays a dominant role in criminally DUI sentencing. • Motorcycle DUI offenders are more likely to be crash-involved and sustain injuries. • Motorcycle DUI offenders are more likely to receive lesser punishment. Introduction: Driving under the influence (DUI) increases the probability of motor-vehicle collisions, especially for motorcycles with less protections. This study aimed to identify commonalities and differences between criminally DUI offenses (i.e., with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 80 mg/dL or higher) committed by motorcyclists and car drivers. Methods: A total of 10,457 motorcycle DUIs and 8,402 car DUIs were compared using a series of logistic regression models, using data extracted from the documents of adjudication decisions by the courts of Jiangsu, China. Results: The results revealed that offenders from the high-BAC group (i.e., 200 mg/dL or higher) accounted for more than 20% of the total DUI offenses, and were more likely to be involved in a crash and punished with a longer detention. Motorcyclists had a higher likelihood of crash involvement, and were also more likely to be responsible for single-vehicle crashes associated with higher odds of injury sustained, compared to alcohol-impaired car drivers. In the verdict, motorcycle offenders were more likely to receive a less severe penalty. Conclusions: Interventions are clearly required to focus on reducing in the high-BAC group of offenders. For alcohol-impaired motorcyclists, their risks of crash and injury against BAC climb more steeply than the risks for car drivers. The factors including frequent occurrences, uncertainty of detection, and short-term sentences may weaken the deterrence effect of the criminalization of motorcycle DUI. Practical Applications: The traffic-related adjudication data support traffic safety analysis. Strategies such as combating motorcycle violations (e.g., unlicensed operators or driving unsafe vehicles), undertaking education and awareness campaigns, are expected for DUI prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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