Truck Crashes Way Down Since Alcohol Testing Began

There have been 23-percent fewer alcohol-related truck crashes per mile in the U.S. since commercial truck drivers were required to submit to alcohol testing beginning in 1995, Reuters reported Oct. 1.

In fact, the rate of alcohol-related crashes resulting in fatalities is now about the same among commercial truckers as it is among commercial pilots. The rate of fatal crashes per mile traveled for motor carriers has “decreased significantly,” according to researcher Guohua Li of Columbia University.

The U.S. law calls for suspending the license of any commercial trucker found to have a blood-alcohol level of .04 percent or higher. The findings provide “compelling evidence” of the efficacy of testing, researchers said, noting that the fatal alcohol-related crash rate is much higher in Canada and Mexico, where drivers do not face alcohol testing.

The study was published in the Sept. 15, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.