The Dangers of Drunk Driving

By contrast, the proportion of Hispanic drivers with positive BACs increased from 3.3 to 7.5 percent. The number of Hispanic drivers surveyed increased sevenfold during that time period (Voas et al. 1997). The most harmful event in fatal crashes also varied considerably according to driver BAC (see table 6).

Top 5 Dangers Caused by Drunk Driving

The law also makes it a felony to drive drunk with a conditional license, which is a license that may be issued by the DMV when someone is convicted of an alcohol-related offense. Such a license may be used only for driving to and from essential destinations such as school, work and medical appointments. The conditional driver license will be revoked if the motorist does not comply with the court terms or for a conviction for any traffic offense except parking, stopping or standing.

safety steps to prevent drinking and driving

In an analysis of the effects of increasing the MLDA to 21, O’Malley and Wagenaar (1991) found that people who grew up in States with the legal drinking age of 21 not only drank less when they were younger than 21, they also drank less from ages 21 to 25. This section examines trends in drinking and driving over approximately the past 20 years. Trends are reported based both on surveys of drivers stopped at random while driving and on records of alcohol-related fatal crashes.

Car Safety Features

• Despite reductions in alcohol-related traffic fatalities since the early 1980s, alcohol remained a factor in 41 percent of the traffic deaths recorded in the United States in 2002.
• Any amount of alcohol can diminish your judgment and functioning, and even low or moderate alcohol use can have harmful effects on different organs.
• All these penalties can be enhanced if the DUI is aggravated or otherwise elevated to felony status.
• Other variables to examine regarding the association with alcohol-impaired driving of beer versus wine versus distilled spirits include age, place of consumption, and quantity of alcohol consumed per drinking occasion.
• However, 38 percent of respondents believed it would be at least somewhat likely that if they drove after drinking too much they would be stopped by the police, arrested, and convicted.

Such limitations are especially problematic for this population, since AI/ANs are at high risk for driving while impaired and sustaining injuries or fatalities from an alcohol-related crash (Letourneau and Crump, 2016). Additional differences in policies and laws will be discussed throughout the report as they apply to various interventions for alcohol-impaired driving. First-time DWI offenders comprise the majority of DWI convictions, and only a small number of fatally injured drivers have prior convictions on their driving records (Williams et al., 2007). Nonetheless, efforts to draw attention to “hardcore DWI offenders” (i.e. repeat offenders or those with excessively high BAC levels), as well as stricter sanctions for such persons, are common, particularly from the alcohol industry (Williams et al., 2007). Evidence suggests that interventions aimed at repeat offenders, such as ignition interlocks, may also be beneficial to first-time offenders by decreasing their likelihood of recidivism (Williams et al., 2007) (see Chapter 5 for information on ignition interlocks). Interventions to decrease alcohol-impaired driving are likely to be most effective when aimed at all groups of drivers (Williams et al., 2007).

Alcohol and Other Drugs

This increase in affordability over this time period is reflected in beer and wine prices as well (Kerr et al., 2013a) (see Chapter 3 for more information on alcohol pricing and taxation). The percentage of traffic deaths that are alcohol related also varies depending on the role of the person killed in the crash (i.e., whether the person killed was the driver, passenger, or pedestrian) and by the type of vehicle involved. In 2002, 41 percent of the drivers killed in consequences of drinking and driving crashes were killed in alcohol-related crashes, compared with 37 percent of passenger deaths and 47 percent of pedestrian deaths. Of all pedestrian deaths, 17 percent involved a driver who had been drinking and 38 percent involved a pedestrian who had been drinking. In 7 percent of pedestrian deaths, both the driver and the pedestrian had been drinking (NHTSA 2003f ). Patterns of drinking behavior are a significant factor with respect to alcohol-impaired driving.

For example, they may be tempted to use their phone or send a text instead of keeping their eyes on the road. Even a small amount of alcohol can impact one’s concentration and judgment. While driving, there are numerous demands on a person’s attention, such as staying in the correct lane, monitoring other vehicles, managing speed, and following traffic signals. The consumption of alcohol significantly https://ecosoberhouse.com/ elevates the chance of a crash due to the reduced ability to pay attention to the road. OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — Owensboro Catholic High School students are learning the effects of distracted driving through a virtual reality simulation only a handful of people in the country have gotten the chance to experience. The Arrive Alive Tour is an experience that shows what it’s like to drive while drunk.

• Additionally, differential beverage availability at drinking establishments has been shown to affect alcohol-impaired driving likelihood.
• Men are most likely to be involved in this type of crash, with four male drunk drivers for every female drunk driver.
• While international comparisons may help to draw attention to progress made in reducing alcohol-impaired driving in similarly developed and motorized countries, there are many limitations for such comparisons (O’Neill and Kyrychenko, 2006).

Save lives: a road safety technical package