1988 ALCOHOL-RELATED DEATHS BY MILES, DRIVERS*

Comparing alcohol-related deaths in Orange County to its four contiguous neighbors on the basis of miles of roadway and licensed drivers yields mixed ratings for Orange County.

The county’s rate of deaths per thousand road miles in 1988 rated in the middle, with two counties having higher rates and two lower. Our rate was virtually identical to the five-county composite rate and much higher than the state number.

A comparison per thousand licensed drivers, however, finds Orange County with the lowest rate of the five, lower than the five-county composite and lower than the state rate.

Alcohol- Deaths per Deaths per Related Thousand Thousand County Deaths Miles * Drivers Los Angeles 522 25.4 .10 Orange 134 24.1 .08 Riverside 136 20.9 .21 San Bernardino 165 19.5 .20 San Diego 204 28.5 .13 FIVE-COUNTY TOTAL 1,161 24.0 .11 STATE TOTAL 2,510 17.7 .13

ALCOHOL DEATHS AND ROAD MILES*

The rate of alcohol-related fatalities per thousand miles of roadway has roller coastered along for seven years, with 1988 ending up on the down cycle. The 24.1 deaths per thousand miles last year was a 21% decrease from the previous year and the lowest such rate since 1982’s 23.1.

* Includes city streets, state highways and county roads.

Source: California Highway Patrol