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Governor Funds Alabama DUI Task Force

Effort includes the purchase of nine mobile breath testing labs.

Governor Bob Riley has announced a $1.4 million effort to fund a statewide task force to reduce drunk driving in Alabama. ‘Task Force Zero’ is a state trooper campaign designed to identify, stop and arrest motorists suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Part of the fund will pay for nine specially equipped step-vans containing breath testing equipment. The mobile labs, dubbed ‘BAT Mobiles’ will allow officers to check motorists’ blood alcohol content in the field rather than taking suspects to a booking station. That will facilitate quicker processing of drunk drivers and allow the officers to return to their patrols sooner.

According to the governor, nearly 40% of all traffic accidents resulting in a fatality in Alabama involve alcohol.

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DUI Cost to California Businesses

Drinking and Driving Costs California Businesses More Than $2.5 Billion Annually

Contact: Dawn Brogan (916) 444-8014
E-mail: 76435.125@compuserve.com

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(SACRAMENTO--September 6, 1995) -- Drinking and driving will cost California businesses more than $2.5 billion this year, according to a study released today by the California Coalition Against Driving Under the Influence (CaDUI).

The study -- conducted by a business school professor at California State University, Sacramento -- looked at a wide range of bottom line impacts associated with injuries, deaths and property damage caused by driving under the influence (DUI).

"DUI inflicts tragedy on society and extracts a tremendous cost from the state's employers and economy," said Lisa Dunn, corporate relations manager with Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America and CaDUI chair. CaDUI is a coalition of public and private sector groups allied in the fight against DUI.

More than 50,000 Californians were killed or injured last year in alcohol-related collisions. Most of these were employed.

"To put this in perspective," said Dunn, "The $2.5 billion loss is equal to $3,337 for every business in California, or $180 for every employee in the state. This is an unnecessary, preventable cost to businesses that hurts their bottom line profitability and competitiveness."

The study included costs for health and life insurance, lost productivity, higher recruitment and retraining expenses, workers compensation, sick leave, motor vehicle insurance, and other legal and liability costs.

While public attention has understandably focused on the tragic social consequences of DUI injuries and deaths, according to CaDUI, the economic impact on employers has been largely ignored. Unless an organization has a large driving fleet, DUI is often seen as an "off the job" problem and not part of the employer's business, even though employers pick up the high tab in health care costs, lost productivity, higher insurance, and other costs.

Since this is such an enormous problem for not only employers, but employees as well, the CaDUI is supportive of today's statewide launch of the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS). NETS, a public-private partnership dedicated to reducing traffic deaths and injuries within our nation's workforce, is being offered as a partial solution to reducing the high cost of DUIs to businesses. NETS California will provide employers with tools for promoting traffic safety messages at the work site.

"Blue Cross of California has always been dedicated to the philosophy that education and prevention go a long way toward saving money and averting tragedy," said Leonard D. Schaeffer, Chairman and CEO, Blue Cross of California, and NETS California member.

CaDUI urges employers to adopt strict anti-drinking and driving policies, and to educate employees and dependents about the dangers of DUI.

The CaDUI is a coalition that provides leadership, coordination and support to California's war against drinking and driving, and is comprised of government, private sector and citizen's advocacy groups. This economic study was paid for by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.

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NHTSA Estimates Crash Cost To Americans

Secretary Peša: Motor Vehicle Crashes Cost America $150 Billion Each Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 7, 1996

NHTSA 43-96
Contact: Barry McCahill
Tel. No. (202) 366-9550

Secretary of Transportation Federico Peša today released a new study of the economic impact of motor vehicle crashes on the U.S. economy, detailing a staggering $150.5 billion cost in 1994 alone.

"While one cannot measure in dollars the pain and anguish caused by the loss or injury of loved ones, the annual economic impact of motor vehicle crashes alone is the equivalent of $580 for every American," Secretary Peša said in a Washington, D.C., meeting with businesses, safety experts and law enforcement officers. "We need every driver to follow the rules of the road and all motorists to wear their safety belts and make sure children are in properly installed child safety seats."

"President Clinton and I made transportation safety our top priority, and there is progress to report, including reductions in drunken driving and more safety belt use, but we must continue to do all we can to make our highways safer," Secretary Peša said. "All of us have a responsibility when it comes to highway safety and together we can meet that challenge."

Crash costs funded through public revenues cost taxpayers $13.8 billion in 1994, the equivalent of $144 taken from the taxes paid by every household in the United States, according to the study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According to the study, less than a third of crash costs are paid by those involved in the crash. The remaining costs are spread among the general population through insurance premiums (55 percent), public tax revenues (9 percent), or other sources such as charities or medical providers (7 percent). Public tax revenues pay for an even higher portion, 24 percent, of first-year medical care costs.

Secretary Peša pointed out that crash costs are typically thought of in terms of hospital bills, but medical care accounts for just 11 percent of the total cost. The biggest share of cost comes from property damage, which accounts for 35 percent of the total. Although property damage is a relatively small cost on a per-case basis, the sheer volume of low speed crashes that involve no injury makes them a significant economic cost. Other costs include lost productivity, emergency services, legal and court expenses, insurance administration, vocational rehabilitation, workplace costs, and travel delay.

Secretary Peša said that while the costs are staggering, there is progress. He cited gains in the fight against drunk driving and in safety belt and child seat use, and said that costs, if adjusted for inflation, actually have declined since 1990.

He also noted the following found in the study:

The number of vehicle miles traveled rose by 9.5 percent since 1990, but the rate of injury has declined during the same period. If fatality and injury rates had remained at the higher 1990 levels, 1994 crash costs would have been nearly $30 billion (or 20 percent) higher than the $150.5 billion that actually occurred.

Between 1990 and 1994, safety belt use rose from 49 percent to 67 percent, and the portion of fatalities that occurred in alcohol-involved crashes dropped from 50 percent to 41 percent.

During the same time, there was a steady increase in the portion of the vehicle fleet with improved safety features such as air bags, rear seat lap/shoulder belts, and center high mounted brake lights.

The analysis, done by the department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, covered costs resulting from 40,716 deaths, 5.2 million injuries, and 27 million damaged vehicles during the year.

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Kaiser Hospital Assess Cost Of Alcohol Use/Abuse

Alcohol Related Injury

Alcohol and Trauma

The combination of drinking and driving results in one injury every minute, and one death every 22 minutes.

The nation's trauma centers are overwhelmed by the number of intoxicated drivers each week. A stroll through the hallways of their emergency rooms each weekend, make it clear just how big a problem alcohol related injury is. The majority of those injured have either been drinking or were injured by someone who was drinking at the time. The cost to society is staggering.......costing the United States around 50 billion dollars/year.

In spite of these facts, drinking and driving continues to be very common. Judges and juries are lax where punishment is concerned....almost certainly because they have been guilty of drinking and driving, or at least have friends who drink and drive. This is an issue of personal responsibility, which should not be viewed lightly by society or the courts. If you drink you should not drive, and if you get caught then swift, sure and effective punishment should be imposed. The cost in human lives and dollars demands action.

Lucas CE, Joseph AL, Ledgerwood AM.

Alcohol and Drugs. In Trauma 2nd Ed., Moore EE, Mattox KL, Feliciano DV. eds.

Accident Facts, National Safety Council, Chicago, 1988.

Tags: DUI Costs