Traffic Crashes and Alcohol Outlets in a Brazilian State Capital

Abstract

Objective: Restricting alcohol outlets is being considered as a measure for preventing alcohol-related crashes. However, in many developing countries, alcohol availability is not regulated and its influence on motor vehicle traffic crashes is unknown. This study explores the association between traffic crashes and alcohol outlets in a Brazilian city.

Method: Data were geocoded and exploratory analysis was conducted using the kernel density estimator. Two generalized additive models (GAMs) were implemented to predict the factors associated with alcohol-related crashes.

Results: For 78 percent of the 3840 traffic crashes where the driver was a victim, there was at least one bar located within a 300-m radius. The median distances between an outlet were 124.4 and 130.7 m for a non-alcohol- and alcohol-related crashes, respectively (P =.13). The GAMs did not make evident any significant association between the outlet locations and alcohol-related crashes: the presence of at least one outlet was associated with alcohol-related crashes with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.75–1.17). Alcohol crashes are more likely to be observed among males (OR = 1.58; 95% CI = 1.21–2.06), young drivers vs. those aged 50 years+ (OR = 3.4; 95% CI = 1.79–6.43), and crashes with fatalities (OR = 1.73; 95% CI = 0.98–3.04).

Conclusions: Density of alcohol outlets was high all over the city and both alcohol- and non-alcohol-related crashes occurred near an outlet. The study helps to better understand the relationship between alcohol availability and traffic crashes in a middle-income country where licensing/zoning is absent and suggests that measures for restricting the physical availability of alcohol are necessary, even though further studies are still needed.

Keywords:

• traffic accidents
• low- and middle-income countries
• alcohol availability
• alcohol outlets
• generalized additive model (GAM)

Acknowledgments

The authors thank EPTC and SMIC for their kind contribution with data sets. Funding was provided by the National Secretariat for Alcohol and Drug Policies (SENAD-TC 004/2007) and Fundo de Incentivo a Pesquisa (FIPE-GPPG 06-012) from Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre.