Shinji Shimizu

Impact of lowering the legal blood alcohol concentration limit to 0.03 on male, female and teenage drivers involved alcohol-related crashes in Japan

In June of 2002, a revision to part of the Road Traffic Act drastically increased the penalties for drinking and driving offences in Japan. Most notably, the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for driving was lowered from 0.05 mg/ml to 0.03 mg/ml. The rationale for the new lower BAC limit was predicated on the assumption that drinking drivers will comply with the new, lower limit by reducing the amount of alcohol they consume prior to driving, thereby lowering their risk of crash involvement. This, in turn, would lead to fewer alcohol-related crashes. A key limitation of previous lower BAC evaluation research in determining the effectiveness of lower legal BAC limit policies is the assumption of population homogeneity in responding to the laws. The present analysis is unique in this perspective and focuses on the evaluation of the impact of BAC limit reduction on different segments of the population. The chief objective of this research is to quantify the extent to which lowering the legal limit of BAC has reduced male, female and teenager involvement in motor vehicle crashes in Japan since 2002. Most notably, the introduction of reduced BAC limit legislation resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the number of alcohol-impaired drivers on the road in Japan, indicating responsiveness to the legal change among adults and teenagers. In addition, this preliminary assessment appears to indicate that the implementation of 0.03 BAC laws and other associated activities are associated with statistically significant reductions in alcohol-involved motor vehicle crashes. In comparison, the rates of total crashes showed no statistically significant decline nor increase in the period following the introduction of the BAC law, indicating that the lower BAC limit only had an effect on alcohol-related crashes in Japan. The evidence suggests that the lower BAC legal limit and perceived risk of detection are the two most important factors resulting in a sustained change in drinking and driving behaviour in Japan. It is recommended that future research and resources in other countries be focused on these factors as determinants to reduced alcohol-related crashes.

Symposium “Social Exclusion and Family”

昨年の大会シンポジウム (雇用流動化と家族) を踏まえ, 今年度のシンポジウムでは, 「社会的排除と家族」が企画された。報告者はこれまでの家族問題に関する研究の成果を, 「社会的排除」という概念で再検討するものであった。その際留意したのは, 「家族の多様化・個人化・脱制度化」など, 現代の家族の特徴のなかに, 貧困と排除のリスクが存在している点を共通認識とするという点であった。神原文子は「ひとり親家族と社会的排除」, 南山浩二は「精神障がい者家族と社会的排除」, 布川日佐史は「生活保護制度と社会的排除」と題して, 家族の諸現象を社会的排除という切り口で報告した。討論者の山崎美貴子は, 家族は家族外のケアシステムによってバックアップされることを不可欠として成り立つものであることに注意を喚起した。