Journal article
Challenges associated with drink driving measurement: combining police and self-reported data to estimate an accurate prevalence in Brazil
Tanara Sousa, Jeffrey C Lunnen, Veralice Goncalves, Aurinez Schmitz, Graciela Pasa, Tamires Bastos, Pooja Sripad, Aruna Chandran, Flavio Pechansky
INJURY-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CARE OF THE INJURED | ELSEVIER SCI LTD | Published : 2013
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Drunk driving is an important risk factor for road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths. After June 2008, all drivers in Brazil were subject to a "Zero Tolerance Law" with a set breath alcohol concentration of 0.1 mg/L of air. However, a loophole in this law enabled drivers to refuse breath or blood alcohol testing as it may self-incriminate. The reported prevalence of drunk driving is therefore likely a gross underestimate in many cities. OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of drunk driving gathered from police reports to the prevalence gathered from self-reported questionnaires administered at police sobriety roadblocks in two Brazilian capital cities, and to estimate a more a..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This work was conducted as part of the Global Road Safety Programme: Brazil, and locally known as Vida no Transito, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. We would like to thank Dr. Adnan A. Hyder, director of the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit, for his guidance and support. Additionally, we would like to thank the entire Vida no Transito team, including international and local partners, and most of all, the traffic agents and police officers in Palmas and Teresina with whom we collaborated for the purposes of our primary data collection spending many hours together in the early morning.