Exploration of the longitudinal trend of DUI crashes in Pennsylvania, USA (2008 to 2019)

Abstract

Objective This study aims to explore the longitudinal trends of DUI crashes in Pennsylvania, USA to provide insights for making the long-term DUI countermeasures. Methods Crash data of Pennsylvania from 2008 to 2019 are collected from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. DUI crashes are divided into alcohol-impaired, drug-impaired, and alcohol-drug-impaired ones in the analysis. The linear regression models are adopted to check whether traffic crashes had significantly changed over time. Results Alcohol-impaired crashes decreased but drug-impaired crashes increased in the study period. Drugged driving is increasingly more deadly compared to drunk driving, and alcohol-drug-impaired crashes are the deadliest. Besides, illicit drugs dominate drug-impaired crashes now, drugged driving is increasing in rural areas, and older drivers are overwhelmingly involved in DUI crashes. Conclusions The growth of drug-impaired crashes, especially illicit drug-impaired crashes, raises new concerns to the proposal of marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania, where recreational use of marijuana is currently prohibited. The decreasing trend of alcohol-impaired crashes is suggestive of the success of the long-term crackdown to drunk driving and implies the necessity of developing the uniform and handy roadside drug test devices. Besides, rural areas and older drivers should be paid special attention to deter DUI in the context of urbanization and population aging.