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Even a small amount of alcohol in a person's blood can result in more severe car wrecks, according to a new study of alcohol in fatal automobile accidents.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego looked at "buzzed" drivers in federal accident data and found that compared to sober drivers, drivers with blood alcohol (BAC) levels below the legal limit are more likely to speed, drive without a seatbelt and operate the striking vehicle--all factors that increase injury severity and death risk.

They also compared drivers at various blood-alcohol levels. The increase in severity of the crashes was higher even when a driver had a BAC of just 0.01 percent. The legal limit in the U.S. for driving under the influence is 0.08 percent, higher than some industrialized nations like Japan and Sweden.

Even accounting for time of day and day of week -- most severe auto accidents occur at night and on weekends -- the researchers found significant differences between drivers with no alcohol in their systems and drivers with some alcohol. The researchers also accounted for age of vehicle, which was slightly higher among buzzed drivers.

Sociology professors David P. Phillips and Kimberly M. Brewer looked at records from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, a national database of fatal accidents. They ranked different levels of accident severity by examining the ratio of severe injuries to minor ones.

The study also found a dosing effect: The more alcohol a person involved in an accident had in their system, the great the chance was the accident would be more severe.

The research appears in the journal Addiction. The study was not able to determine if driving buzzed increased the risk of an accident.

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