Alcohol-related traffic accidents with fatal outcomes in the city of Sao Paulo

▶ Car drivers in Brazil are more likely to have positive BAC than motorcyclists. ▶ Over half of car drivers who died in crashes had positive BAC. ▶ Weekends, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., were the time periods with greatest number of positive cases. The aims of the present study were to characterize fatal traffic accident victims in a major urban center in Brazil and their association with alcohol consumption. Cross-sectional study of 907 fatal traffic accident victims in Sao Paulo, in 2005. Adult males between the ages of 25 and 54 represented the majority of cases with positive blood alcohol concentrations (BAC). Overall, males had a higher proportion of BAC and mean BAC than females. Pedestrians, particularly those with no detectable BAC, were typically older than other victims. Most accidents (total and BAC-positive) happened on weekends between midnight and 6 a.m. Considering all victims, 39.4% were positive (BAC over 0.1g/l). When only drivers (automobile, motorcycle and bicycle) were evaluated, 42.3% had BAC over the legal limit (0.6g/l). Alcohol is associated with nearly half of all traffic accident deaths in the city of Sao Paulo, especially for days and times associated with parties and bars (weekends between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.).