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| Hispanic drivers are more likely than White or African American drivers to consume more alcohol more frequently. The mean number of drinks believed to affect driving ranges from:
- 6.1 to 8.0 for Hispanics
- 2.1 to 4.8 for Whites
- 4.3 to 6.4 for African Americans
- Motor Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Hispanics through the age of 24, and the second leading cause of death for ages 25-44. They are the third leading cause of death for Hispanics of all ages surpassed only by heart disease and cancer. (Monthly Vital Statistics Report for 1995, [CDC, 1997]
- Hispanics were shown to be more likely than Whites to drive with blood alcohol concentration levels over .05, according to the 1996 National Roadside Survey.
- Mortality rates among adolescents ages 13 to 19 years, rates of death due to motor vehicle crashes (adjusted per billion vehicle-miles) are highest among Hispanic and African American males.
- In terms of overall mortality rates, rates of death due to motor vehicle crashes are higher among Hispanics than among Whites and African Americans.
This overview was prepared and released by MADD and an independent coalition researcher. The overview prepared by Dr. Catherine Clark, Alcohol Policy Group, Berkeley, CA. The overview was reviewed by Dr. Raul Caetano, Houston School of Medicine, University of Texas, and Dr. Robert Voas, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, and member of the MADD National Board of Directors.
References:
Fatal Accident Reporting System Data
2) 1990 United States Census Data
3) 1994 National Center for Health Statistics Mortality Data
4) "Motor Vehicle Occupant Deaths among Hispanic and Black Children and Teenagers" by Baker, Braver, Chen, Pantula, & Massie, 1998
5) "Ethnicity and Alcohol-Related Fatalities: 1990 to 1994" by Voas & Tippetts, 1999
6) "Prevalence of Alcohol-Impaired Driving: Results from a National Self-Reported Survey of Health Behaviors" by Liu, Siegel, Brewer, Mokdad, Sleet, & Serdula, 1997
7) 1996 California Death Certificate and Hospital Discharge Data
8) "Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics Driving under the Influence of Alcohol: Results from the 1995 National Alcohol Survey" by Caetano & Clark, 1998
9) "Drinking and DSM-IV Alcohol and Drug Dependence among White and Mexican-American DUI Offenders" by Caetano & Raspberry, 1998
10) "Traffic Injury Rates by Race/Ethnicity in California 1996" by Roeper, 1999
11) "Driving after Drug or Alcohol Use: Findings from the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse" by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Transportation
12) "Drinking and Driving in the United States: The 1996 National Roadside Survey" by Voas, Wells, Lestina, Williams, & Greene, 1998
13) "Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance -- United States, 1997" by Kann, Kinchen, Williams, Ross, Lowry, Hill, Grunbaum, Blumson, Collins, Kolbe, 1998
14) "Motor Vehicle Crash Involvement among Racial and Ethnic Groups in the U.S." by Voas, 1999.
The term "Hispanic" is used, in accordance with Federal Guidelines, to denote persons of Latino, Mexican, Central or South American, or any other Hispanic origin living in the United States. According to the 1990 Census, Hispanics make up about 9% of the total U.S. population, and the majority of Hispanics in the U.S. have Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban ancestry. Most Mexican-Americans live in the Southwest, Puerto Ricans tend to reside in the Northeast, and Cubans are located primarily in Florida. The Hispanic population is the fastest growing ethnic group and is expected to constitute the largest minority group in the U.S. by 2020. This overview summarizes the research on patterns of non-alcohol and alcohol-related traffic injuries and fatalities among Hispanics living in the United States.
Hispanic and White students were more likely than African American students to drive a car after drinking alcohol. Of the students who had ridden a motorcycle in the past year, Hispanic students were less likely to have worn a helmet than White students.
In a nationwide survey among students in grades 9 to 12, Hispanic students were more likely than African American students to report being a passenger in a car with a driver who had been drinking alcohol.
In California:
- Rates of fatal and nonfatal injuries are similar for Hispanics, African Americans and Whites. Rates of traffic injuries declined dramatically for both Hispanics and African Americans between 1991 and 1996
- Among DUI offenders, rates of alcohol and drug dependence are much higher among Whites and Mexican Americans born in the United States as compared to Mexican Americans born in Mexico
- Hispanics are overrepresented among DUI arrestees. There are 360 arrests per drinking driver in fatal crashes among Hispanics compared to 205 arrests per drinking driver in fatal crashes for Caucasians
- Hispanics are more likely than Whites to believe there will be adverse consequences to one's physical, social and emotional well-being resulting from DUI
- Within the Hispanic subgroups, the following differences exist:
- Mexican Americans have a slightly higher proportion of alcohol-related traffic deaths and Cuban Americans have a considerably lower proportion of alcohol-related traffic deaths as compared to the other Hispanic subgroups
- Other than the Asian/Pacific Islander groups, Cuban Americans have the lowest rate of alcohol-related fatalities and the highest safety belt usage rate
- Versus other Hispanic groups, Mexican Americans have the highest number of alcohol-related driver fatalities for both men and women
- The number of Hispanics on the road at night has increased, their amount of drinking has increased, and the blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) are higher
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