Search results for category: Fatalities & Accidents

MADD Reports DUI Deaths Up

MADD Reports US Drunk Driving Rates Rising Again.

According to MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, almost 18,000 people died in alcohol-related accidents in the United States in 2003, up from 2002. The issue of drunk-driving dangers was highlighted in the '80s and '90s. MADD began in 1979 after a teenage girl was killed by the car of a drunk driver and her mother decided to take action. In the past two decades of MADD's heyday, drunk-driving deaths plummeted from 30,000 a year to 15,000.

“Get MADD all over again”

MADD blames success as its downfall. Now that it has brought to fruition 2,300 alcohol-related accident laws across the country, it seems that perhaps their advocacy is being treated as mundane news. MADD's new slogan, "Get MADD all over again," (2002 MADD Impaired Driving Summitt (pdf download)) seeks to revitalize interest in their organization.

Those who suffer the loss of their loved ones from drunk driving accidents find drunk driving laws around the country-as well as how they are administered-to be much too flexible, especially on repeat drunk drivers.

Naturally, citizens view the issue from different perspectives. Howard Neumann, a prosecutor from Greensboro, North Carolina, believes that a drunk driver is not unlike a man randomly firing a loaded gun from the side of the road. Either way he is dangerous and irresponsible, and should be punished accordingly. Debbie Smith would agree: she lost her young daughter after an intoxicated truck-driver ran a red light and hit her car. His sentence amounted to 18 days, the same number of years that Smith's daughter was alive.

Joel Oakley, a criminal defense attorney from Greensboro, takes a much more lenient position on the subject. Oakley says that people who are good can sometimes do bad. He also argues that despite that a person may completely have their faculties to drive, their breathalyzer measurement may be just barely under the legal level. He believes that MADD has played a significant role in harshly condemning defendants.

“okay to drive”

The ultimate enemy of police, MADD, and other anti-drunk driving groups lies in the mentality of people who think they are "okay to drive" after a few drinks. Highly noticeable checkpoints to monitor driver sobriety can help in deterring drivers from operating a vehicle under the influence. Word of mouth spreads the message that the police force is serious, and ultimately members of the community support each other in avoiding drunk driving.

July 1, 2004

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents |  MADD |  Statistics

California DUI Deaths, Injuries, Arrests and Repeats Down

This is an encouraging report. Maybe California will be the leader (as we are in so many areas) that can reverse the national trend of rising D.U.I./D.W.I. stats.

THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE CALIFORNIA DMV.

March 31, 1997

DUI Deaths, Injuries, Arrests and Repeats Continue to Drop

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Deaths from alcohol related accidents fell again in 1995, as did injuries, DUI arrests and repeat offenses, according to an annual report to the legislature issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

"The report reflects an unprecedented change in public behavior that saves hundreds of lives yearly," said Department of Motor Vehicles Director Sally Reed. "This is the sixth straight year the numbers have declined," she added.

She said the change was brought about by public pressure, tough new laws, strong law enforcement efforts and public education campaigns. Alcohol related deaths, which peaked at 2,754 in 1987, fell to less than half that at 1,343 in 1995. Reed said though she was pleased with the improvement, she realizes that each death is a cause for concern.

The survey shows about 90 percent of DUI offenders are male, the average age is 33 years old, and the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) averages almost .17 -- more than twice the legal limit of .08.

The report shows that DUI offenders were less likely to be repeaters than in previous years. In 1989, repeat offenders accounted for 37 percent of DUI convictions. That figure dropped to 31 percent in 1994, the last year for which data is complete. Applying the percentages to raw numbers makes the drop more dramatic from about 80,500 repeaters in 1989 to 45,000 in 1994.

In evaluating which sanctions prevent repetition of DUI offenses, the report concludes that those given license restrictions combined with a treatment program do at least 12 percent better than with any other alternative.

The data also shows that jail was the least effective penalty for first offenders. First time offenders sentenced to jail had 20 percent more subsequent DUI incidents than those sentenced to other DUI sanctions. Sanctions evaluated were probation, jail, various alcohol treatment programs, license suspensions by DMV and the courts, and mandatory use of an ignition interlock device.

Approximately 73 percent of all those arrested were convicted of a DUI offense and another 9 percent were convicted of reckless driving involving alcohol.

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Tags: California DUI |  Fatalities & Accidents

California DUI Statistics – Increase in Drunk Driving Fatalities

California Sees Dramatic Increase in Drunk Driving Fatalities in 2005.

Author: American Beverage Institute Published on Sep 14, 2006, 07:33

In light of the fact that drunk driving deaths in California jumped by 5.5% in 2005, the American Beverage Institute (ABI) is urging state law enforcement officials to abandon their ineffective roadblock campaigns.

According to the newly released National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data on 2005 alcohol-related fatalities, there were 76 more people killed in drunk driving fatalities in California last year than in 2004.

"It is time for California to reevaluate how it is addressing its drunk driving problem," said ABI Executive Director John Doyle. "Rather than rely on roadblocks, as California does, the state should invest more of their law enforcement resources in roving police patrols."

According to a landmark NHTSA study, "the number of DWI arrests made by the roving patrol program was nearly three times the average number of DWIs made by the checkpoint programs."

The newly released NHTSA data also reinforce the superiority of roving patrols over roadblocks:

• The 11 states that do not operate roadblocks experienced a collective drop of 91 fewer alcohol-related fatalities in 2005 compared to 2004;
• The 39 states (plus the District of Columbia) that operate roadblocks saw a collective increase in alcohol-related deaths; and
• If non-roadblock states are removed from the equation, there would have been a net increase in nationwide alcohol-related fatalities last year.

"It is incumbent upon the states to use the most effective measures available, and clearly the data show that roving patrols are much more effective than roadblocks at getting drunk drivers off the road," said Doyle.

The American Beverage Institute is an association of restaurants committed to the responsible serving of adult beverages. To learn more visit: http://www.americanbeverageinstitute.com/.

© Copyright 2006 YubaNet.com

Source: http://www.YubaNet.com

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Tags: California DUI |  Fatalities & Accidents

Arizona Drunk Driving Deaths

Arizona DUI Deaths Rose Last Year

Bob Golfen The Arizona Republic Sept. 14, 2006 07:35 PM

Despite intensified police efforts and public-awareness campaigns, alcohol-related traffic deaths rose significantly last year in Arizona, with DUI fatalities increasing 13 percent in 2005 compared with 2004, new federal statistics show.

Drunken driving was blamed in more than one-third of all traffic deaths statewide, with 49 more people killed in alcohol-related crashes during 2005 than in 2004.

Arizona came in No. 6 among the states with the largest increases in alcohol-related fatalities. The nationwide trend was a slight decrease in the numbers killed, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. advertisement

"It's disappointing that we're not making progress," said Mike Hegarty, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. "It's still disappointing that so many people are making the wrong decision to get behind the wheel when they've had too much to drink, and it's costing themselves or someone else their lives."

The total number of people killed in all Arizona highway crashes during 2005 was 1,177, a slight increase over 2004, when 1,151 people died. Of those killed in 2005, 492 died in crashes where alcohol was a related factor, and 434 of those were killed in crashes where a driver was legally drunk, with a blood-alcohol level higher than .08 percent.

Aggravated DUI, when the blood-alcohol level is higher than .15 percent, was implicated in 309 of the deaths.

The driver who killed Judy Meyers' son, Paul, in April had a blood-alcohol level of .21 percent, according to police, when he broadsided Paul's car at a Scottsdale intersection while running a red light at high speed. Paul Meyers, 29, died of massive head trauma.

The 27-year-old drunken driver, William Ward, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The criminal proceedings were an added emotional drain after her son's death, Meyers said.

"I felt no hatred toward the person when I saw him in court," she said. "But two things kept going through my mind. I kept saying to myself, how many families are going to have to go through what we are going through?

"And I kept thinking, when will the madness stop? The madness being driving drunk."

Chuck Heeman, the Arizona executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said DUI laws need to be toughened in the state to combat drunken driving and lower the death toll.

"There's really no fear for the drunk driver when they're out on the road," Heeman said. "People don't take drunk driving seriously. They don't understand the ramifications of it."

Too often, drunken drivers get off with a light penalty, he said, and judges' hands are tied by unsubstantial state penalties mandated for drunken driving. This frustrates police officers who work hard to catch DUI offenders, he said.

Law enforcement agencies statewide have boosted DUI enforcement in recent years, Hegarty said. DUI task forces frequently target areas with saturation patrols, rotating from place to place, he said, with a special emphasis on enforcement around holidays.

"We're trying to be much more proactive, getting a lot more DUI task forces out there," he said.

During 2005, the special task forces made more than 6,500 DUI arrests, he added, not including the arrests made by regular police patrols.

Underage drinking is blamed for some of the increase in deaths, said Yvette Lopez, spokeswoman for AAA Arizona.

"I volunteer with MADD as well, and we have seen quite an increase in underage drinking," Lopez said. The director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, Richard Fimbres, agreed that young DUI offenders have a major impact on the death rate.

"We're seeing way more young people who have been drinking and are impaired with other substances," Fimbres said. Although people killed in drunken-driving accidents most often die at the hands of strangers, death can also come from someone close to the victim.

For 20-year-old Lindsey Taft, it was a guy she has just started dating, a motorcyclist who brought her to a party in August 2003, said her mother, Robin Williams of Chandler. Police say both were drunk when they started home.

The driver lost control of the bike while rounding a curve in Ahwatukee, and they crashed at the entrance of a golf course. He survived, she was killed. According to police, the driver's blood alcohol registered .165 percent, more than twice the legal limit.

"It's just that it's such a stupid thing, so preventable," Williams said of drunken-driving deaths. "You hear about it every day on the news, but I don't think it sinks in anymore."

Source: http://www.azcentral.com

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AZ Drunk Driving Deaths Up 13%

By Som Lisaius, KOLD News 13

Drunk driving is blamed in more than one-third of all the traffic deaths statewide last year. It's a startling statistic that's landed Arizona among the worst in the nation for fatal DUIs.

Despite increased patrols, DUI checkpoints and stiffer penalties, Arizona's alcohol-related traffic deaths jumped 13 percent last year. That's the sixth largest increase nationwide, with 492 people losing their lives because somebody decided to drive drunk.

"The first thing that comes to mind when I hear those numbers is the fact that there's that many people out there suffering."

Theresa Babich knows this all too well based on something that happened four years ago. "29 hours after I got home from my honeymoon, my husband was hit on his motorcycle on his way to work buy a drunk driver."

Miraculously her husband survived but is permanently disabled. The experience altered both of their lives significantly. As Babich became a victim's advocate for Mother's Against Drunk Driving.

"People look at it as an accident--not as a crash," Babich says of alcohol-related collisions. "There's no accident getting behind the wheel when you're impaired."

Making matters worse, Babich says is an amendment to state law that cuts what used to be an all-day defensive-driving class to four and a half hours starting this Sunday. The class still costs about 130 bucks and is said to convey all the same information. Babich isn't so sure.

"Cutting down that time to only half a day, we've gone out and trained those teachers of the defensive driving classes to talk about DUIs and how they can affect folks--so what part of their course are they gonna cut."

Sanctions aside, Babich says drunk driving is an individual's choice. Maybe you've gotten away with it and nobody you know has ever been hurt. But the statistics aren't in your favor. And it only takes one time to change everything forever.

Wondering why you should care about these statistics? again more than one third of all traffic fatalities in Arizona last year were alcohol related. But of those people who died, nearly have of them were innocent victims who weren't even drunk.

Source: http://www.kold.com

Tags: Arizona DUI |  Fatalities & Accidents

Worldwide Traffic Deaths Up

Drunk Driving Increases Traffic Fatalities Worldwide

April 12, 2004

A study by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank finds that traffic fatalities, including those caused by alcohol, are a serious world health problem that is often overlooked, the Washington Post reported April 7.

One in every 50 deaths worldwide is associated with road accidents, the study found, and traffic crashes are second only to childhood infections and AIDS as a killer of people between the ages of 5 and 30.

Each year, 1.2 million drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians are killed in traffic crashes. By 2020, traffic deaths are expected to increase by 80 percent as hundreds of millions of cars are added to the roads.

"It is already huge, but if nothing happens it is expected to rise," said Etienne Krug, director of WHO's department of injuries and violence prevention.

Among the recommendations in the 217-page report are measures for developing countries, such as India, China, and southeast Asia. They include stricter enforcement of drunk-driving laws, better road designs, increased use of seatbelts, and improved design and inspection of vehicles.

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This article is published by Join Together - a national resource for communities working to reduce substance abuse and gunviolence based at the Boston University School of Public Health

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents |  Statistics

Some Interesting B of J Statistics

BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS (BJS)

Prison and Jail Inmates, 1995

DID YOU KNOW...
1,127,132 prisoners were under the jurisdiction of correctional authorities of the 50 States and the District of Columbia (together holding 1,026,882) and of the Federal Government (100,250).

WERE YOU AWARE...
over the 12 preceding months, the Nation's prison population grew 72,059 prisoners--an increase of 6.8 percent since year end 1994.

STATISTICS SHOW...
State prison systems were operating between 14 percent and 25 percent over their reported capacity; the Federal system, 26 percent over the reported capacity.

FINDINGS INDICATE...
the Nation's local jails held or supervised an estimated 541,913 persons. Of that total, 34,869 were in community supervision programs such as electronic monitoring, house detention, and day reporting.

THE FACTS ARE...
an estimated 7,888 juveniles (under age 18) were held in local jails; an increase of 17 percent from 12 months before. Nearly a quarter were tried or awaiting trial as adults.

To obtain a copy of BJS' new release "Prison and Jail Inmates, 1995," (NCJ 161132), please refer to "Ordering Directions" at the end of JUSTINFO or point your Web browser to: <http://www.ncjrs.org>.

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents |  Statistics

Highest Road Deaths Worldwide

Source: German Federal Highway Research Institute

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents |  Statistics

National DUI's Up 4%

DRUNK-DRIVING DEATHS ROSE 4 PERCENT IN 1995

By: Mercury News Wire Services

Highway-safety experts say myriad factors could have contributed to the first nationwide increase in drunken-driving deaths in a decade, including public complacency, an increase in the number of young drivers and higher speed limits. The 1995 toll of 17,274 alcohol-related traffic deaths was a 4 percent increase over 1994 figures, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic deaths also increased last year, to 41,798 from 40,716 in 1994. Drunken-driving deaths had been steadily decreasing since 1986.

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents |  Statistics

Highest DUI Related Deaths in U.S.

States Ranked in "Fatal Fifteen"

Chicago, IL - A recent report identified the 15 most dangerous states based on alcohol-related deaths. The report was published by End Needless Death on Our Roadways (END), a group of doctors and medical professionals dedicated to using new strategies to lessen dangerous driving.

They announced the "Fatal Fifteen"-states in which 41% or more of traffic-related casualties are caused by alcohol-related incidents. The "Fatal Fifteen" in rank order are Washington D.C., Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, Alaska, North Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, Texas, Connecticut, South Dakota, Illinois, South Carolina and Arizona.

The report reveals that ten states of the "Fatal Fifteen" have made the list ten years straight. Dr. Andrea Barthwell, Co-Chairperson of END and former Deputy Director for Demand Reduction the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy states, "We urge leaders in these states and around the country to dedicate themselves to exploring new and innovative strategies for addressing impaired and other dangerous driving behaviors."

The report also stresses the need for alcohol-related accident deaths to decrease, especially around the time of the holidays. Barthwell explains, "While the holiday season is a time for excitement, celebration and family, it is also a time of impaired driving and senseless death and injury."

Victims numbering 17,000 were killed in the country last year and 4,300 of those deaths occurred in the "Fatal Fifteen" states.

Stricter drunk driving laws and a more public support has lowered the number of drunk driving deaths, however in the last few years the death rate has plateaued, and END finds these rates to be unacceptable.

The report proposes solutions via the medical profession in particular. Outreach, education programs, and interventions could inform patients with alcohol problems of the negative consequences of their alcohol consumption. Further usage of interlock systems, which require impaired drivers to measure their blood alcohol level, could also address the problem. END also suggests that states consider implementing initiatives and strategies that have proven effective in other states.

View the full "Fatal Fifteen" release from END (pdf download).

November 30, 2006

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents |  Statistics

Gallup Poll: Drinking and Driving

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Complete Survey (PDF Download)

Executive Summary

Background

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce traffic-related health care and other economic costs. The goal is to meet the U.S. Secretary of Transportation’s objective of reducing alcoholrelated fatalities to 11,000 by the year 2005. Slight changes in the survey design and methodology in 1999 limit direct comparisons in some areas to the data collected in the previous administrations.

In order to plan and evaluate programs intended to reduce alcohol-impaired driving, NHTSA needs to periodically update its knowledge and understanding of the public’s attitudes and behaviors with respect to drinking and driving. NHTSA began measuring the driving age public’s attitudes and behaviors regarding drinking and driving in 1991.

This study represents the fifth of these biennial surveys designed to track the effectiveness of current programs and to identify areas in need of attention.Telephone interviews were conducted with a nationally representative sample of 5,733 persons of driving age (age 16 or older) in the United States between October 12 and December 12, 1999. Findings from the current survey are presented first. Then, comparisons with prior surveys are made.

Slight changes in the survey design and methodology in 1999 limit the number of direct comparisons that can be made to the previous NHTSA drinking and driving administrations.

Key Findings

Drinking and Driving Behavior

About 21% of the driving age public have driven a motor vehicle within two hours of consuming alcoholic beverages in the past year. These persons are referred to as “drinker-drivers†throughout this report.

Males are more than twice as likely to have driven within two hours of drinking as are females (31% compared to 13%).

Adults age 21 to 45 are the most likely to be drinker-drivers, with 37% of males and 18% of females driving within two hours of alcohol consumption.

On average, drinker-drivers consume 2.7 drinks prior to driving. Drinker-drivers under age 21 consume an average of 6.3 drinks prior to driving.

Drinker-drivers made between an estimated 840 million and 1.1 billion driving trips within two hours of consuming alcohol in the previous year. Those age 21 to 29 make a disproportionately high number of drinking-driving trips (21% of trips while they are 16% of the driving age population).

Drinker-drivers operate a motor vehicle with an average blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .03, which is below the legal limit for those age 21 or older; however, about 5% of drinker-drivers are estimated to have a BAC of .08 or higher. While those age16-20 make only about 1% of all drinking-driving trips, they do so at a BAC level three times that of legal age drinkers. Which is about .10 BAC.

About one in ten (11%) persons age 16 or older has ridden with a driver they thought might have consumed too much alcohol to drive safely in the past year. This number rises to about two in ten among those age 21 to 29, and to one in four among those age 16 to 20 (23%). Of those who rode with unsafe persons, four in ten riders decided that their drivers were unsafe before they were riding in the vehicle, but still rode with them.

Attitudes About Drinking and Driving

The driving age public sees drinking and driving as a serious problem that needs to be dealt with. Virtually all (97%) see drinking and driving by others as a threat to their own personal safety and that of their family, and nearly three-quarter (73%) feel reducing drinking and driving is extremely important in terms of where tax dollars should be spent.

Large proportions of those age 16 and older are supportive of “zero toleranceâ€1 for drinking and driving. Nearly seven in ten (68%) agree that people should not be allowed to drive if they have had any alcohol at all. Non drinker-drivers (76%) are more supportive of this belief than are drinker-drivers (33%).1

A majority (63%) of persons of driving age believes that they, themselves, should not drive after consuming more than two alcoholic beverages. In contrast, male drinkerdrivers under age 30 feel that they can safely drive after consuming about four drinks within two hours. An average 170-pound male would still be below the legal limit2 (either .08 or .10) after four drinks.

Prevention and Intervention of Drinking and Driving

Half of drivers 16 or older who consume alcoholic beverages, report at least one occasion where they refrained from driving when they thought they may have been impaired. Most of these persons rode with another driver instead.

Virtually all (98%) of those 16 and older feel that they should prevent someone they know from driving if they are impaired. Thirty-two percent (32%) of persons of driving age have been with a friend who may have had too much to drink to drive safely. Most of these (82%) tried to stop the friend from driving. Intervention was successful about 80% of the time.

Three in ten (31%) of those 16 or older have ridden with a designated driver in the past year, with those under age 30 most likely to have done so. Four in ten drivers have acted as a designated driver in the past year. Designated drivers were reported to have consumed less than one-half of one alcoholic drink, on average, prior to driving. 1 In this report ‘zero tolerance’ refers to no driving after drinking by anyone, of any age. All states have ‘zero tolerance’ laws which refer specifically to drivers under 21. 2 As of November 2000, 19 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico have .08 per se laws. 30 states have .10 per se laws.

Enforcement

About 1% of the driving age public report being arrested for impaired driving in the past 2 years. Males under age 30 were most likely to have been arrested. This is consistent with the higher average calculated BAC levels of young drinker-drivers.

Six of ten (62%) believe that a conviction is very likely or certain if they were arrested for a drinking-driving violation, while one in seven (15%) feel that a conviction would be unlikely.

The driving age public generally feels that an impaired driver is more likely to have a crash than to be stopped by police. On average, the public feels that about 43% will get in a crash while the police will stop about 33%.

About 64% feel that current drinking and driving laws and penalties are effective at reducing drinking and driving. Yet, three of four (73%) persons age 16 or older feel that drinking driving penalties should be more severe.

One in three (34%) persons of driving age have seen a sobriety checkpoint in the past year. About 19% have been through such a checkpoint themselves. A majority (64%) feel that sobriety checkpoints should be used more frequently.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Levels

Four of five (80%) persons of driving age have heard of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels, but fewer than three in ten (27%) can correctly identify the legal BAC limit for their state.

More than two-thirds (68%) of driving age residents who have heard of BAC levels support the use of a .08 BAC legal limit in their state. More than eight of ten (86%) of those who currently reside in .08 states believe that the limit should remain at .08 or be made stricter, while 49% of those in .10 states feel their state should lower the limit to .08. Six in ten feel that all or most drivers would be dangerous at the BAC limit in their state.

Support for .08 is strongest among those who do not drink and drive, with 70% feeling the limit should be .08 or stricter (lower). While support is not as strong among those who drink and drive, 36% of this group also support a BAC limit .08 or stricter.

Crash Experience

Nearly two in ten (17%) persons of driving age were involved in a motor vehicle crash as a driver in the past two years. Alcohol was involved in about 2% of reported crashes.

Drivers under age 21 were more likely to be involved in a crash both as a driver and a passenger than were other drivers.

Perceived Effectiveness of Strategies to Reduce Drunk Driving

The general driving age population feel that the following would be the most effective strategies to reduce impaired driving providing alternative means of transportation (to self driving) for impaired drivers (63% very effective making bars and liquor stores more legally responsible for selling to minors/drunk patrons 55%); and increasing law enforcement efforts to arrest drunk drivers (53%). Making alcohol harder to buy (by liming sales outlets), increasing the cost through increased taxes and limiting alcohol advertising are felt to be much less effective strategies.

Complete Survey (PDF Download)

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents |  Statistics