ALCOHOL AVAILABILITY AND MOTOR-VEHICLE FATALITIES

Purpose: To examine the association between the availability of alcoho l and male (15-24-years-old) motor vehicle fatalities. Methods: Assess ed association between motor vehicle fatality rates for each of 75 cou nties for males with measures of alcohol availability (whether the cou nty was wet or dry, number of licensed on-site and off-site alcohol ou tlets) after controlling for other variables for a 6-year period. Pois son regression models were employed. Results: No significant relations hips were found between county-level motor vehicle fatality rates and any of the alcohol availability measures examined. However, rural resi dence was associated with much higher fatality rates. Conclusions: Ove rall, ecologic models, employing a wide range of variables, account fo r little of the variance in motor vehicle fatality rates for young men . These findings support the position that further legal or regulatory restrictions on alcohol outlet licensing may not have an impact on fa talities. The higher rates associated with rural residence, while cons istent with other work, cannot be explained by alcohol beverage outlet s.