Alcohol consumption and speeding: A study on motorcyclists involved in crashes in northeastern Brazil.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to analyze the relationship between alcohol consumption and speeding at the time of the crash among motorcyclists admitted to a trauma hospital in northeastern Brazil.

METHODS

This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2023 to January 2024 with motorcyclists who experienced traffic crashes and were admitted to the Traumatology department of a public hospital in Recife (northeastern Brazil). Upon collecting the victims' sociodemographic data (e.g., sex, age, race, level of education, parental status, and income), we analyzed the association between alcohol consumption and speeding at the time of the crash, crude odds ratios (OR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The OR was also adjusted for sociodemographic variables.

RESULTS

Of the 303 participants, 95.7% (n = 290) were male, 71.1% (n = 209) were aged 18-39 years, 66% (n = 200) had no children, 75.3% (n = 228) identified as being black or brown, and, among those that informed their income (n = 290), 83.8% (n = 243) earned less than Brazilian two minimum wages. Our findings also showed that the association between alcohol consumption on the day of the crash and speeding was positive and statistically significant (OR = 9.63, 95% CI = 5.37-17.26). After adjusting for confounding variables (age, parental status, and income), motorcyclists who consumed alcohol were ten times more likely to speed (OR = 10.03, 95% CI = 5.19-19.37).

CONCLUSIONS

Riding a motorcycle under the influence of alcohol is associated with an increased likelihood of speeding at the time of the crash.