A comparison of alcohol-related driving behavior of white and nonwhite North Carolina drivers

Abstract

This paper broadens the knowledge of drinking/driving behavior by examining the involvement of North Carolina (NC) nonwhite drivers in alcohol-related (A/R) crashes and fatal crashes involving alcohol for the period of 1980 through 1988. The study identifies an A/R crash involvement problem for nonwhites, particularly nonwhite males above the age of 25 and nonwhite females above the age of 54. For ages 25 and higher, the A/R crash rates per licensed nonwhite male are at least twice those of white (Euro-caucasian) males. In addition, the driving while intoxicated (DWI) arrest rates per driver are approximately twice as high for nonwhite males as for white males of the same age. Through analysis of other data related to arrests for drinking and driving, single-vehicle nighttime (SVNT) crashes, breath alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of those arrested for DWI, and those involved in A/R crashes, and blood alcohol concentration of those involved in fatal crashes, a series of alternative explanations for this nonwhite involvement are examined. It is concluded that while nonwhite males and females may be involved in more crashes than whites at the same BAC level (as hypothesized by other researchers), there is also evidence that nonwhites appear to drive more often after drinking and also drive at slightly higher levels of BAC.