The total of this material was 1195. The results show a significant relationship between excess mortality, premature, non-natural deaths often associated with alcohol problems and previous conviction for drunken driving. This suggests that conviction for drunken driving is a significant marker of an adverse prognosis for survival. Driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated, especially when occurring repeteadly, seems to be an indication of serious personal problems. This behavioural disorder may be due to general neglicence or some psychopathological, psychiatric or some other reason like problem drinking.
Drunken drivers take great risks while driving a motor vehicle in road traffic.
It is possible that these people take great risks in their life otherwise, too. Therefore, mortality of these people may differ from the general trend which was the hypothesis for this study. The cause and the manner of death of the deceased were obtained from death certificates and medicolegal autopsy protocols. Mortality of drunken drivers is presented per 100.000 drunken drivers a year during the 2.5 years follow-up period. In Helsinki in 1990 there were 2299 male and 179 female drunken drivers of which 71 males had died by the end of 1992.