Alcohol Crashes Up 1st Time in 10 Year

Drinking And Driving Fatalities Increase

ITASCA, Ill., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Fatal injuries increased for the third straight year, according to a report released today by the National Safety Council. The council's 1996 "Accident Facts," its 76th annual report on injuries in America, shows that deaths caused by fatal injuries increased to 93,300 in 1995, a two percent increase from 91,400 deaths in 1994. Since 1992, when deaths reached a 68-year low of 86,777, fatalities have increased eight percent.

"The third increase in a row is a major cause for concern," said council President Jerry Scannell. "The continued growth in the economy can explain some, but not all, of the increase. This report clearly demonstrates that a redoubling of injury prevention efforts is necessary. Increasing traffic law enforcement and adopting stronger legislation can save more lives. Always wearing a safety belt and never drinking and driving are two choices everyone can make to substantially decrease the risk of injury," Scannell added.

Motor vehicle crashes caused 43,900 deaths in 1995 -- a three percent increase from 1994. Council officials say an increase in drinking and driving fatalities added to the rise in deaths. Alcohol-related traffic fatalities increased by 4 percent last year for the first time in ten years. In 1995, 41 percent of traffic fatalities involved alcohol, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"Sadly, the 'don't drink and drive' message is being ignored by more people. Tougher laws against drunk driving, such as license revocation, .08 BAC, and stronger, high visibility enforcement are the proven ways to reverse the increase," said Scannell.

Although the council believes higher speed limits will lead to increased fatalities, the specific effects of the 1995 congressional action to repeal the National Maximum Speed Limit will not be known for at least a year, according to Alan Hoskin, the council's statistics manager. "We need to look at a full year of data before we really know what effect the law's repeal has had," Hoskin said.

Motor vehicle crashes are the single greatest cause of death due to fatal injuries, accounting for nearly half of the 1995 death total. Injuries in the home caused 26,400 deaths, injuries in public places caused 20,100 deaths and work injuries caused 5,300 fatalities.

Poisoning Deaths Increase Poisonings by solids and liquids caused 10,000 deaths in 1995 -- an 11 percent increase from the previous year. Since 1985, poisonings have increased by 144 percent. A surge in drug overdoses, primarily cocaine, is the main reason for the increase. For the first time, poisonings caused more deaths in the home than falls.

At home, work and in public places, falls caused 12,600 deaths; 4,500 people died from drowning; 4,100 died from fires and burns; and, 1,400 people died from unintentional firearms injuries.

Cost To Society

The council estimates that injuries cost society $434.8 billion in 1995. This includes estimates of economic costs of fatal and nonfatal unintentional injuries together with employer costs, vehicle damage costs and fire losses. The costs by class were: motor vehicle, $170.6 billion; work, $119.4; and, home and public, $158.4 billion. In 1995, fatal injuries were the fifth leading cause of death behind heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Further information, including charts and tables, is available by accessing the council's home page at http://www.nsc.org.

The National Safety Council is a not-for-profit, nongovernmental international public service organization dedicated to reducing fatal injuries.