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Trends in Alcohol-Involved Crashes Among Young California Drivers Before, During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Ainsley Lotito1, Federico E Vaca2, Siwei Hu2
1Colorado School of Public Health, CU Anschutz Fitzsimons Building, 13001 East 17th Place, 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, Colorado 80045 USA.
Objectives:
To examine changes in alcohol-involved traffic crash rates among young drivers in California during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
We conducted a cross-sectional study of alcohol-involved crashes among drivers aged 15-24 using data from the University of California, Berkeley Transportation Injury Mapping System (2016-2024). The primary exposure was COVID-19 policy period (pre-, during-, and post-pandemic). Annual crash rates per 100,000 population were calculated, and Poisson regression models estimated rate ratios (RRs) comparing COVID-19 periods, stratified by county, age, and sex, with subgroup interactions.
Results:
Of 56,019 crashes analyzed, 68.7% involved males and 58.5% Hispanic drivers. Alcohol-involved crash rates rose 19.98% after COVID onset, then declined to 114.63 per 100,000 in 2024 from 126.24 in 2016. Post-COVID rates were significantly higher among Hispanic youth (RR = 1.29; 95% confidence interval: 1.21-1.37), with the largest increase between ages 20 and 21.
Conclusions:
Alcohol-involved crashes among young drivers initially rose after COVID-19 and later steadily declined. However, Hispanic youth experienced a sustained rise compared to pre-COVID levels, indicating the need for ongoing monitoring and focused interventions.
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