According to a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs ridesharing could play a major role in reducing alcohol-involved accidents and that ridesharing could be a viable option in place of drunk driving.
Researchers looked at data from November 2018 to December 2019 to include 962 alcohol-involved crashes with 962 that did not involve alcohol. Researchers found that density of active rideshare trips near a crash site was associated with decreased odds that the crash was alcohol-involved. Scientists say their findings are consistent with the suggestion that ridesharing replaces impaired-driver trips.
While the decrease in odds are not significant, scientists believe that this particular alternative should be looked into and promoted. According to researchers, an increase of one rideshare trip per square mile was associated with 0.2% decreased odds that a crash was alcohol-involved. If we look into the sheer volume of rideshare trips and alcohol-involved crashes on Chicago roads, then the overall positive impact could be substantial.
The study points out that ridesharing services are available in 263 cities in the United States, and they have facilitated more than 11 billion rides since beginning to operate around 10 years ago. Ridesharing may be an appealing option for consumers because they can avoid both the risk of drunk driving and the potential inconvenience of public transportation.
Researchers that although some research shows ridesharing may be associated with increases in other public health problems—such as pedestrian crashes—these findings support the use of ridesharing to tackle the specific problem of drunk driving.
