Age, sex, and blood alcohol concentration of killed and injured pedestrians.

The relationships between age, sex, and blood alcohol concentration were examined among all adult pedestrians fatally injured in South Australia from 1981 to 1992 inclusive and among all adult pedestrians admitted to a Level 1 trauma center from August 1985 to July 1987. Among the 400 fatalities and 217 admissions, respectively, 68% and 60% were male, 35% and 21% were over 65 years of age, and 38% and 29% had a BAC of .10 or above. Three distinct high-risk groups of adult pedestrians were identified: elderly sober pedestrians, young and middle-aged intoxicated males, and male and female teenagers. Temporal trends in numbers, rates, and extent of alcohol involvement of driver and pedestrian fatalities were examined for the years 1981 to 1992: the numbers and rates of driver and, in particular, pedestrian fatalities have decreased over the last decade, but the extent of alcohol involvement has declined significantly only among fatally injured drivers. Comparisons of the extent of alcohol involvement among fatally injured pedestrians, drivers, passengers, and motorcycle riders showed that alcohol involvement, particularly at the higher levels of blood alcohol concentration, was most prevalent among pedestrians.