Effect of the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law on mortality due to road traffic accidents according to the type of victim,sex, and age in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil: An interrupted time series study |
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Authors: | Rafael Tavares Jomar Dandara de Oliveira Ramos Vitor Augusto de Oliveira Fonseca Washington Leite Junger |
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Affiliation: | 1. Coordination of Assistance, National Cancer Institute José Alencar Gomes da Silva, Ministry of Health, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;2. rafaeljomar@yahoo.com.br;4. Center for Data Integration and Knowledge for Health, Gon?alo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Salvador, Brazil;5. Health Management, National Department, Social Service of Commerce, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;6. Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Social Medicine, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
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Abstract: | Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the effect of the Brazilian zero-tolerance drinking and driving law on mortality rates due to road traffic accidents according to the type of victim, sex, and age. Methods: An interrupted time series design was used to compare yearly mortality rates due to road traffic accidents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before and after the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law came into effect on June 19, 2008. Yearly mortality rates were compared according to the type of victim: pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, and vehicle occupant. We used the Prais-Winsten procedure of autoregression in the analysis of time series; the outcome of this analysis was the annual percentage change in the rates. Overall and stratified analyses were conducted to investigate whether the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law may have had a distributional effect on mortality rates due to road traffic accidents depending on sex and age group; a significance level of P < .01 was accepted. Results: From 1999 to 2016, there were 15,629 deaths due to road traffic accidents in Rio de Janeiro. The effect of the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law on overall mortality rates due to road traffic accidents in Rio de Janeiro was not statistically significant. However, among cyclists and motorcyclists aged ≥60 years and among pedestrians of both sexes and aged ≥20 years, the effect of the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law was to decrease mortality due to road traffic accidents at a yearly rate. Conclusion: There is evidence of reduced mortality rates due to road traffic accidents among cyclists and motorcyclists aged ≥60 years and among pedestrians of both sexes aged ≥20 years in the second major Brazilian capital 9 years after the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law was adopted. |
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Keywords: | Accident prevention accident traffic alcohol drinking Brazil interrupted time series analysis law enforcement |
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