This article addresses the impact of policy measures on the number of alcohol-related crashes and fatalities in European Union countries. In particular, it assesses (1) whether mild or severe penalty measures should be used to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities caused by alcohol; and (2) whether alcoholic beverages should be treated differently or proportionally to their alcohol content. This study analyzed the number of alcohol-related crashes and fatalities in 24 European Union countries between 2002 and 2014. The methodology involved fixed-effects panel models, models with instrumental variables, the Hausman–Taylor model, and seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR). SUR improve the results of coefficient estimates when the data are not complete. The results of the SUR indicated that vehicle impoundment, community service, and alcolocks correlate with lower crashes, while detention correlates with lower fatalities. Furthermore, a higher alcohol content in beverages is positively associated with fatalities and negatively associated with the number of crashes. Mild and harsh measures for preventing alcohol-related crashes and fatalities differ in effectiveness; therefore, they should be used simultaneously. Blood alcohol concentration limits were found to be an ineffective tool for preventing crashes and fatalities under the influence of alcohol. The regulatory restrictions on different types of alcohol should be stricter for hard alcohol (especially spirits) and lower for low-alcohol beverages, such as beer, if fewer fatalities are preferred to fewer crashes.

中文翻译：

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欧盟国家预防与酒精相关的道路交通事故和死亡的法规的有效性

本文讨论了政策措施对欧盟国家与酒精相关的事故和死亡人数的影响。特别是，它评估了（1）是否应该采取温和或严厉的处罚措施来减少酒精造成的车祸和死亡人数；(2) 酒精饮料是否应根据其酒精含量区别对待或按比例对待。这项研究分析了 2002 年至 2014 年间 24 个欧盟国家与酒精相关的车祸和死亡人数。方法涉及固定效应面板模型、工具变量模型、豪斯曼-泰勒模型和看似无关的回归 (SUR)。当数据不完整时，SUR 改进了系数估计的结果。SUR 的结果表明，车辆扣押、社区服务和酒精锁与较低的撞车事故相关，而拘留则与较低的死亡率相关。此外，饮料中较高的酒精含量与死亡人数呈正相关，与车祸数量呈负相关。预防酒精相关事故和死亡的温和和严厉措施的效果有所不同；因此，它们应该同时使用。人们发现，血液酒精浓度限制对于预防酒精影响下的车祸和死亡来说是无效的。如果希望减少死亡人数而不是减少车祸，那么对不同类型酒精的监管限制应该对烈性酒（尤其是烈酒）更严格，而对啤酒等低酒精饮料则更低。