The Association among Alcohol Consumption Patterns, Drink-Driving Behaviors, and the Harm from Alcohol-Related Road Traffic Injuries Due to the Drinking of Others in Thailand

Abstract

Thailand has one of the highest rates of traffic-related fatalities and alcohol-related road traffic injuries globally. Previous studies focused on alcohol consumption and road traffic injuries. However, no existing studies investigate the association between drink-driving behaviors and road traffic injuries due to the drinking of others. This study aims to explore any potential associations among alcohol drinking patterns, drink-driving behaviors, and the harm from alcohol-related road traffic injuries due to the drinking of others. The Thai Tobacco and Alcohol Use Household National Survey data in 2017 (n = 80,797) were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. This study found that current drinkers and binge drinkers were more likely to suffer from road traffic injuries due to others’ drink-driving behavior, i.e., 1.50 times (95% CI: 1.49–1.51) and 2.31 times (95% CI: 2.30–2.33), respectively, compared with non-drinkers. In addition, we found that drink-driving behavior was associated with harm from road traffic injuries due to others’ drink-driving behavior by 2.12 times (95% CI: 2.10–2.14) compared with the non-drinker group. This study calls for effective measures to reduce drink-driving behaviors to prevent road traffic injuries due to the drinking of others.