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"In
2005, 16,885 people died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes,
accounting for 39% of all traffic-related deaths in the United
States''
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Home]
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December
is National Drunk and Drugged Driving
Prevention Month. It was decreed by
Presidential Proclamation. Take a look
at these quick facts:
- In
2005, 16,885 people died in
alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes,
accounting for 39% of all traffic-related
deaths in the United States.
- An
alcohol-related motor vehicle crash kills
someone every 31 minutes and non-fatally
injures someone every two minutes.
- Drugs
other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and
cocaine) are involved in about 18% of
motor vehicle driver deaths. These other
drugs are generally used in combination
with alcohol.
- Each
year, alcohol-related crashes in the
United States cost about $51 billion.
- Most
drinking and driving episodes go
undetected. In 2005, nearly 1.4 million
drivers were arrested for driving under
the influence of alcohol or narcotics.
That’s less than one percent of the 159
million self-reported episodes of
alcohol–impaired driving among U.S.
adults each year.
- There
are actions that work to prevent injuries
due to impaired driving. To further
decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes,
communities need to implement and enforce
strategies that are known to be effective,
such as:
- Sobriety
checkpoints.
Fatal crashes thought to involve
alcohol dropped a median of 22% (with
random breath testing) and 23% (with
selective breath testing) following
implementation of sobriety
checkpoints.
- 0.08%
BAC laws. Fatal
alcohol-related crashes showed a
median decrease of 7% following the
implementation of 0.08% BAC laws in 16
states.
- Minimum
legal drinking age (MLDA) laws. Raising
the MLDA, such as from 18 to 21,
decreases crash-related outcomes a
median of 16% for the targeted age
groups.
- "Zero
tolerance" laws for young
drivers. One
study found that fatal crash outcomes
decreased 24% after implementation
of “zero tolerance” laws
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