Stringent non-pharmaceutical interventions increased the incidence of drunk driving-related road traffic crashes

Abstract

Abstract Drunk driving is one of the leading causes of traffic deaths in China. Although the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in dramatic reductions in transport and mobility in 2020, to date, little is known about how drunk driving and related traffic crashes varied with the NPIs. We created a high-resolution and comprehensive drunk driving dataset. Based on 836,194 drunk driving in 335 cities in China from 2016 to 2020, we employ the causality models to examine and quantify trends in overall and subgroup drunk driving and related traffic crashes road traffic mortality throughout 2020. Subgroup analyses were done by place (urban and rural), sex, employment, education level, age group, geographical location (road, city, province and region), and by type of motor vehicle. Despite the marked reductions in drunk driving and related traffic crashes in 2020, the incidence of the induced traffic crashes increased during the stringent NPI period. Substantial differences persist across populations, locations and motor vehicles. Drunk driving occurred in the morning, at western China and rural catchment areas as well as drunk drivers aged 18–30, with high education background or white-collars have more declines. The drunk drivers aged 30–50, with high education levels, white-collar, female, and occurred at night, in the middle east China and urban areas have a higher incidence of traffic crash compared with other subgroups especially in Stage I. These comparable findings can inform decision-makers in planning precisely targeted interventions for cracking down on drunk driving during the events like public health arenas.