According to a 2005 study published in the journal Injury Prevention, New Year's Day is the most deadly day of the year for pedestrians. From 1986 to 2002, 410 pedestrians were killed on New Year's Day, and 58 percent of them had high blood alcohol levels.

Data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also show that alcohol has a high rate of involvement in pedestrian deaths throughout the year. In 2007, 37 percent of fatally injured pedestrians aged 16 or older had blood alcohol concentrations above 0.08 percent. Of pedestrians who were killed at night, over half (54 percent) had high blood alcohol levels.

According to Dr. Thomas Esposito, a trauma surgeon at Loyola University Health System in Illinois, alcohol consumption makes people prone to all types of injuries:

"It's not just walking outside. All the time we see people who have been drinking that have fallen down the stairs or tripped at home and injured themselves. Others have decided to pick a fight using a knife or with someone holding a gun. Alcohol impairs your physical ability to walk and to drive. It impairs your judgment, reflexes and coordination. It's nothing more than a socially acceptable, over-the-counter stimulant/depressant."

According to Esposito, from July 2008 to June 2009, 86 patients aged 16 or older were treated at Loyola after being struck by cars. Of these, 18 (21 percent) were found to have alcohol in their systems. Of those, 14 (78 percent) had blood alcohol concentrations of 0.08 percent or higher.

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: alcohol