West Virginia data from 2004-2005 analyzed by the CDC reports the prevalence of alcohol and drug use among persons killed in motor-vehicle crashes. The study, authored by James A. Kaplan, found drug use prevalence (25.8%) was similar to the prevalence of a blood alcohol concentration greater than .08. The analysis uses data from the West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
Use Cases
- Analyzing the correlation between substance use and fatal motor-vehicle crashes based on reported prevalence statistics.
- Comparing alcohol and drug use rates among crash victims based on the reported 25.8% drug use prevalence.
- Modeling the potential national impact of drug-impaired driving based on the West Virginia data and extrapolation methods discussed.
- Evaluating enforcement impact on drug-impaired driving based on the final section of the source article.
Strengths
- Data originates from an authoritative source: the CDC's analysis of West Virginia OCME data reported to the NHTSA FARS system.
- Provides a specific, quantified finding: 25.8% prevalence of drug use among crash victims.
- Includes a direct comparison to alcohol use prevalence (BAC > .08) for the same population.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the West Virginia-specific study.
Provenance
- Source
- Centers for Disease Control (CDC) analysis of West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner data reported to NHTSA FARS.
- Collection Method
- Analysis of 2004 and 2005 data reported by the West Virginia OCME to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
- Time Range
- 2004-2005
- Freshness
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
- Geography
- West Virginia, United States