RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The role of alcohol in driver fatalities in Israel is unknown, and monitoring blood alcohol concentration among drivers is not routine. Moreover, over the past decade, self-reported access to and consumption of alcohol in Israel has been on the rise. OBJECTIVES: To use available data to characterize alcohol-related driver fatalities. METHODS: The prevalence of alcohol-related driver fatalities were estimated for 443 drivers, aged 17+ years, using data from Israel's National Center for Forensic Medicine for 2000-2004. RESULTS: Between 8% and 17% of driver fatalities had a BAC > or = 0.05 g/dl. Most drivers with alcohol exceeding this level were males aged 21-30 years who died on weekends. Recreational and/or medicinal drugs were found in 6%-11% of driver fatalities. Mean BAC among driver fatalities with BAC > or = 0.05 g/dl was threefold higher than the legal driving limit and appears to be increasing with time. CONCLUSIONS: In light of the evidence suggesting an increasing mean BAC over time as well as reported increasing trends in access to alcohol and consumption, this study should serve as a basis for future research to comprehensively characterize the extent of this problem.