OBJECTIVE: Determine rate of college student alcohol-related vehicular traffic fatalities in Virginia during 2007. PARTICIPANTS: 17- to 24-year-old cohort [corrected] at colleges and universities in Virginia. METHODS: Institutions with membership in the American College Health Association were invited to participate in a survey. Data collected from institutional reports of student deaths due to vehicular accidents. RESULTS: Twenty-four institutions were invited to participate. Sixteen responded (response rate = 67%), comprising total enrollment of 117,100 for 17- to 24-year-olds (56% of total college population in state). Five traffic deaths were reported, representing 4.3 deaths per 100,000 students. Based on statewide statistics that estimate alcohol contributes to 38.9% of traffic deaths, rate of alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths is 1.7 deaths per 100,000 college students in Virginia, which is 89% lower than leading national estimates. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that past estimates of alcohol-related vehicular deaths among college students are overstated.
OBJECTIVE: Determine rate of college student alcohol-related vehicular traffic fatalities in Virginia during 2007. PARTICIPANTS: 17- to 24-year-old cohort [corrected] at colleges and universities in Virginia. METHODS: Institutions with membership in the American College Health Association were invited to participate in a survey. Data collected from institutional reports of student deaths due to vehicular accidents. RESULTS: Twenty-four institutions were invited to participate. Sixteen responded (response rate = 67%), comprising total enrollment of 117,100 for 17- to 24-year-olds (56% of total college population in state). Five traffic deaths were reported, representing 4.3 deaths per 100,000 students. Based on statewide statistics that estimate alcohol contributes to 38.9% of traffic deaths, rate of alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths is 1.7 deaths per 100,000 college students in Virginia, which is 89% lower than leading national estimates. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that past estimates of alcohol-related vehicular deaths among college students are overstated.