Factors potentially associated with reductions in alcohol-related traffic fatalities--United States, 1990 and 1991.

Traffic crashes are the single greatest cause of death among persons aged 5-32 years in the United States (1); almost half of all traffic fatalities are alcohol-related (1,2). An estimated 40% of persons in the United States may be involved in an alcohol-related traffic crash sometime during their lives (1). In 1991, the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities (ARTFs) declined almost 10% when compared with 1990 (3), and the total number of deaths during 1991 (19,900) is the lowest since more complete alcohol-related fatal crash data became available in 1982. This report summarizes data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Fatal Accident Reporting System on trends in ARTFs in the United States from 1982 through 1991 and presents information regarding several factors potentially related to the decline in fatalities during 1991.