Serological Study of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections in Infancy and Childhood.

are plotted in the same way, an almost identical distribution is obtained. This shows that no selection was made according to the time of day of patients from whom samples were obtained. Fig. 2 shows the blood-alcohol levels of the 121 road-trafficaccident drivers (aged 18 years and over) in our series according to the time of the accident in which they were involved. Between 2200 and 0200 hours there were 19 road-trafficaccident drivers (18 years of age and over) ; 11 (58%) had blood alcohol levels above 50 mg./100 ml., 8 (42%) above 100 mg./ 100 ml., 3 (16%) above 150 mg./100.ml. We divided the road-traffic-accident drivers in our series into two groups: those involved in accidents in which no other vehicle or pedestrian was concerned (" single accidents ") and those involved in " double accidents." The number of drivers involved in single accidents with blood-alcohol levels under 50 mg./100 ml., over 50 mg./100 ml., over 100 mg./100 ml., and over 150 mg./100 ml. were 16 out of a total of 99 (16%), 11 out of a total of 22 (50%), 10 out of a total of 15 (66.6%), and 6 out of a total of 9 (66.6%) respectively. These figures show a dramatic increase in the ratio of single to double accidents when the blood-alcohol level rises above 50 mg./100 ml. These results agree with the findings of Jeffcoate (1958), who in a survey of 376 fatalities in road accidents showed that the driver who had been drinking tended to be involved relatively more frequently in single accidents, suggesting lack of attention or control.