In Canada, alcohol-impaired driving is a persistent public health concern in need of effective community-based prevention strategies. This study examined the association between the number of rides offered by a safe-ride program in the province of Quebec every December and alcohol-related injury crashes during the 2000–2019 period.
Safe-ride programs in four cities were examined (Montreal, Quebec, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières) using an ecological approach. The data set was structured as a balanced cross-sectional time series. Random-effects negative binomial regression modelled the relationship between the number of rides provided by the safe-ride program and night-time alcohol-related crashes involving serious injuries and fatalities, with individual city population as an offset variable.
The median number of night-time alcohol-related crashes for the months of December for the 2000–2019 period was 3.0 (IQR=1.5–4.5). The median number of rides offered was 16 894 (IQR=15 586–18 391). The association between the number of rides provided by the safe-ride program and night-time alcohol-related crashes (IRR=1.0002; 95% CI 0.9999, 1.0005) was not significant.
The role of the number of rides provided by the safe-ride program in reducing night-time alcohol-related crashes was inconclusive. Specific program features may influence the findings. Future research is needed to understand the specific characteristics of safe-ride programs that could influence their putative benefits.