Annual and New Year's Day alcohol-related traffic fatalities--United States, 1982-1990.

Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States for all age groups from 1 through 34 years (1), and almost half of these fatalities are alcohol-related (2,3); an estimated 40% of all persons may be involved in an alcohol-related traffic crash sometime during their lives (3). During holiday periods, the incidence of traffic fatalities and of alcohol-related traffic fatalities (ARTFs) tends to be higher than during nonholiday periods (4,5). 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 1990 both annually and for January 1 of each year. In addition, a quarterly table (pages 838-9 of this issue) presents data on alcohol involvement in fatal motor-vehicle crashes in the United States for October-December 1990.