DUI Fatalities Accidents

Drunk Driving Accidents Up

Increase in Drunk Driving Crashes

A 2005 study compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found drunk driving to be on the rise, and the steady decline that started in the early '90s had come to an end.

The rate of drunk driving accidents in the United States rose 37% between 1997 and 1999, and continued to rise sharply in subsequent years. According to the report, which was published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, by the year 2002 the number had reached a heavy total of 159 alcohol-related accidents.

Before this the numbers were more hopeful. Between 1993 and 1997 the amount of alcohol-related accidents dropped more than 1%, from 123 million to 116 million.

With the rise in alcohol-related accidents comes a higher number of drunk-driving fatalities. From 1999 to 2003, the number of deaths due to drunk driving crashes rose approximately 2.5% to 17,013. Auto accidents are the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 34, according to CDC findings. A shocking 30% of Americans will experience an alcohol-related accident in their life at some point. The economic burden of these accidents totals more than $50 billion each year.

Many of the accident counts come from telephone surveys that collected information on the drinking habits of more than 100,000 Americans. Callers questioned interviewees about how often they drink, and how often they drive when intoxicated.

The rise in deaths may be correlated with a rise in binge drinking, defined as drinking at least five drinks at a time. People who binge drink were found to be 13 times more likely to drink while intoxicated.

Dr. Robert H. Brewer, alcohol team leader at the CDC, suggested programs that can be implemented at the local and state levels that could aid in reversing this trend. Stricter enforcement of the drinking age law, cutting down the number of liquor licenses, and increasing taxes on alcohol could turn the tide on drinking overall.

April 21, 2005

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents |  Statistics

Alcohol Deaths Down

Alcohol-Related Car Deaths Down in 2004

By KEN THOMAS

The Associated Press

Monday, August 22, 2005; 6:46 PM

WASHINGTON - Drunken-driving deaths declined slightly across the nation and fell in 32 states last year, traffic safety officials said Monday in beginning a campaign to crack down on drunken driving during the Labor Day holiday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported a 2 percent decrease in fatal crashes in 2004 involving at least a driver or a motorcycle rider with an illegal blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher.

The government said 12,874 motorists died under those circumstances in 2004, compared with 13,096 in 2003. All 50 states had a 0.08 standard with Minnesota's adoption of the law earlier this year.

NHTSA said a record number of 11,500 law enforcement officials would participate in its annual campaign, called "You Drink & Drive. You Lose." The crackdown, which runs through Sept. 5, will be bolstered by $13.9 million in advertising.

Texas saw a 10 percent reduction in its alcohol-related fatalities, accounting for 141 fewer deaths than in 2003. Others making significant reductions included Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and the District of Columbia.

Kansas, which had a 29 percent decrease in alcohol-related fatalities in 2004, has targeted drunken driving through media campaigns, use of sobriety checkpoints and extra law enforcement patrols during weekends and at special events.

"We're getting more and more local law enforcement involved in our mobilizations," said Pete Bodyk of the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Utah had an 81 percent increase in alcohol-related fatalities, representing 29 more deaths in 2004 compared with the previous year. Mark Panos, deputy director of the Utah Highway Safety Office, attributed some of the growth to an increase in the number of motorists on the road as its population expands.

Several Southern states, including Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee, also posted higher fatality numbers.

Glynn Birch, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said his organization was advising people to designate a sober driver before they attend gatherings during the Labor Day holiday.

"It's important to note that impairment begins with the first drink, so your safest choice is to use public transportation, take a cab or find a sober driver," Birch said.

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents |  Statistics

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.

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents |  Statistics

Drunk Father Kills Daughter Walking Her Dog

Mother Makes Tearful Plea in Court

Merced, CA - A man arrested for drunkenly running over and killing his own child faces DUI and manslaughter charges in Merced County in California's Central Valley. According to the California Highway Patrol, Silva was driving his SUV home on Tuesday night when he ran into his 7-year-old daughter, who had gone out to take the dog for a walk.

At the trial, the wife of Jesus Silva told the county judge that she forgives her husband, that he was a wonderful father, and that he merits the right to be attend his daughter's funeral. The judge agreed to grant Silva a pass to be present at his daughter's funeral, but also doubled the bail to $150,000 Friday on DUI and manslaughter charges.

October 15, 2004

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents

Drunken Brother Run Over

By KIM BRADLEY -- Staff Writer

Dean Cardinal watched in horror as his drunken little brother was run down by a semi after throwing up beside a northern Alberta highway.

Cardinal said he and his 22-year-old brother Francis had been out with their cousin, Richard Beauregard, in Slave Lake and were on their way home to Wabasca about 11:30 p.m. Thursday when the accident happened.

Francis had had too much to drink and needed to throw up, so Beauregard pulled the truck over to the side of Highway 754, five kilometres north of Highway 88 between Slave Lake and Wabasca, to let him out, said Cardinal.

"He went to the other side of the road and when he was coming back the truck was too close," he said, his voice trailing off. "We tried to wave but he couldn't see us. The truck hit the brakes and that was it. I don't know what to think today."

Slave Lake RCMP are still investigating the cause of the accident and said yesterday no charges had been laid. They say alcohol was a factor.

Jean Beauregard, who saw her son for the last time the day he died, said he was a good kid who had just got a new job after being laid off from his seasonal job.

"We were very close," she said tearfully. "I lost one son two years ago and now I've lost another one."

In 1995, she said, Francis's life changed dramatically when one of his three brothers committed suicide.

The two will be buried side by side in a cemetery near their home, she said. Francis's funeral arrangements were still being finalized yesterday. Wabasca is 150 km north of Slave Lake, which is 250 northwest of Edmonton.

Tags: Fatalities & Accidents

Study on DUI and Accidents

FACTS ON: DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED

By John Brick, Ph.D., F.A.C.A.

Traffic accidents account for more deaths of individuals between age 6 and 33 than any other type of accident. Although many factors contribute to highway accidents including highway and vehicle design, traffic volume, driver characteristics (e.g., experience, personality), and the mechanical function of the motor vehicle, the single most significant predictor of an accident is the driver's state of sobriety. The results from experimental and epidemiological studies indicate that alcohol intoxication greatly increases the risk of accidents. Many sources state that about half of all fatal traffic accidents involve alcohol; however, such reporting should not be interpreted to mean that alcohol intoxication caused the accident. The fact that a driver is intoxicated does not mean s/he caused the accident. However, when the intoxicated driver is assumed responsible, the relative risk of "crash probability" clearly increases as a function of blood alcohol concentration or %BAC (see figure). For example, in 1992, alcohol-related accidents resulted in approximately 20,000 fatalities.

Driving under the influence of drugs other than alcohol may increase the relative risk of a motor vehicle accident as well but epidemiological studies similar to those conducted with alcohol are not yet available. In those field studies in which marijuana was detected, for example, alcohol was often present in high enough amounts so that alcohol intoxication alone could have accounted for the accident. Even so, many of the effects of marijuana (e.g., memory lapses, distortion of time) are likely to interfere with the ability to drive safely.

The effects of cocaine on driving ability and risk for accidents are equivocal at best. Although cocaine may alter vision (e.g. hallucinatory "snow lights", sensitivity to light) and mood (euphoria, depression, paranoia, etc.) at the present time it is speculative as to whether such effects are present to the extent that they will affect driving. In the future, drug screens may routinely be given following all accidents and more will be learned regarding the relationship between cocaine use and other drugs on driving ability. Other related but less well-studied public health risks include pedestrian, bicycling, and watercraft accidents that occur during intoxication. Because alcohol use is many times more prevalent than other drugs, much more is known about the relationship between alcohol intoxication and driving. Generally, alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that causes a dose-dependent decrease in cognitive and motor functioning. As the blood alcohol level rises, the signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication increase in number and intensity so that laws restricting drinking and driving are necessary.

In response to the many problems that befall society as a result of drinking and driving, most states have what is called a –per se†statute. A per se statute defines the BAC at which it is presumed that all drivers are intoxicated and cannot drive safely. Blood alcohol levels are usually measured and defined by most legislatures as the number of grams (g) or milligrams (mg) of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood (100 milliliters is usually called a deciliter or dl). Most law enforcement agencies use instruments that measure alcohol in breath and in some states the drinking/driving statute is written in terms of blood or breath alcohol concentration.

Persons can be convicted of intoxicated driving under a per se conviction regardless of their actual driving performance at the time of arrest. The majority of states use .10 grams % (the same as 100 mg/dl) as prima facie evidence for drunk driving (i.e., .10% alone is enough evidence to justify a conviction). At the present time California, Maine, Oregon, Utah, and Vermont use .08% as a per se violation, and most European countries have adopted a blood alcohol level of .05%-.08% to define legal intoxication. It has been recommended that all states make it a per se criminal offense to drive with a blood alcohol level of .08% or more. For drivers under the age of 21, some states have a "zero tolerance law" in which the standard for legal intoxication is .02%.

More is known about the relationship between alcohol intoxication and driving than about driving and any other drug. While people of all types and backgrounds drink and drive, the most consistent profile for drivers arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol is that they tend to be men, 20-40 years of age with some history of problem drinking. About twice as many men than women are involved in fatal motor vehicle accidents when the blood alcohol level is greater than .10%. Although beer is reported as the most commonly consumed beverage prior to the crash, the type of beverage alcohol bears no relationship to driving impairment. Other statistical correlations with driving while intoxicated include being divorced or separated and having a low income, and previous DWI arrests and moving violations involving the use of alcohol. Consistent with drinking patterns and driving after a night partying, most drinking/driving accidents occur late at night and on weekends.

Laboratory studies designed to evaluate the effects of alcohol on psychomotor performance reveal that alcohol affects vision, eye-hand coordination and reaction time only at moderate to high doses (generally at blood alcohol levels well above .10%). However, the most relevant driving-related behaviors affected by alcohol are probably divided attention tasks. Alcohol impairs the ability to attend and respond to complex stimuli at very low BACs ( e.g., .02%†.03%). It is believed that such laboratory findings translate well to real-world driving situations where it is necessary to pay attention to many different events, such as road and traffic conditions, speed, traffic control devices, lane position, pedestrians, other vehicles, roadway signs, etc., often in a nearly simultaneous fashion.

On closed-course driving tests, at BACs of about .06%-.09%, variability in lane position and brake use increased and steering ability decreased. Using a driving simulator approach, it has been found that at BACs approaching .10%, there are increases in braking (up to 45%), and gear changing and steering errors. In some laboratory tests, alcohol produces impairment on complex tests when blood levels are as low as about .02%. Epidemiological data indicate that the risk for an accident begins to increase at blood alcohol levels above .05% so that at .08% the risk of an accident is about 5 times greater than when sober. However, the probability of being innocently involved in an accident remains level and does not increase with increasing BACs. In other words, alcohol intoxication, even at high levels, does not significantly change the relative risk of an accident when other drivers or factors are found to be responsible for the accident.

Numerous behavioral tests are used to determine if an individual is intoxicated. Often these tests are not quantitative. Three tests recommended by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and commonly used to screen suspected intoxicated drivers at the roadside were designed to discriminate drivers above .10%. The recommended tests are: the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, Walk and Turn Test and One Leg Balance Test. The nystagmus test measures eye movements during a simple tracking task. Alcohol intoxication (as well as some neurological conditions) may result in jerky eye movements. The Walk and Turn Test measures the ability to walk a straight line in a heel-to-toe manner, turn on one foot and walk back. Alcohol intoxication may result in walking off the line, inability to turn and failure to follow instructions (e.g., keeping arms at sides, walking a fixed number of steps). The One Leg Balance Test is a divided attention-type task that measures the ability to balance with one leg raised six inches off the ground while counting aloud rapidly from 1001-1030. Alcohol intoxication may make it difficult to stand without putting your foot down and/or making counting errors. According to the DOT, when properly administered and scored, these psychophysical tests have the following accuracy in determining intoxication above .10% BAC: Nystagmus Gaze: 77-82%, Walk and Turn: 68-80%; One Leg Balance: 65-78%. For law enforcement purposes, behavioral tests coupled with an objective blood or breath alcohol test, provide convincing evidence of impairment due to alcohol use.

When a laboratory test is administered to an intoxicated person it is fairly easy to detect intoxication. However, in the absence of specific tests, it is difficult to reliably detect intoxication until the person is well above most current legal limits for intoxication. Reliable signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication will not be present until the blood alcohol level reaches about .15%. Above this level, signs and symptoms of intoxication may include one or more of the following: stumbling, inability to walk or stand normally, and changes in speech, affect, or various psychomotor skills, depending upon individual differences and actual blood alcohol level. At a blood alcohol level of .15%, the relative risk for an accident is nearly 20 times greater than when sober. In other words, when you see someone that clearly –looks†drunk, that person will not be able to safely drive a car regardless of how they feel or their previous drinking experiences.

References:

Borkenstein, R.B., Crother, R.F., Shumate, R.P., Zeil, W.B. & Zylman, R. (1974). The role of the drinking driver in traffic accidents (The Grand Rapids Study). Bluthkohol, 11, 1-131.

Brick, J. (1990). Marijuana. New Brunswick, NJ : Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies.

Brick, J., Adler, J., Cocco, K. and Westrick, E. (1992). Alcohol intoxication: Pharmacokinetic prediction and behavioral analysis. Current Topics in Pharmacology, 1, 57-67.

MacAvoy, M.G. & Marks, D.F. (1975). Divided attention performance on cannabis users and non-users following cannabis and alcohol. Psychopharmacology, 44, 147-152.

National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. (1985). Alcohol and highway safety 1984: A review of the state of knowledge (Technical Report No. DOT-HS-806-569). Washington, D.C. : U.S. Govt. Printing Office.

Perrine, M.W., Peck, R.C. & Fell, J.C. (1989). Epidemiologic perspectives on drunk driving. Surgeon General's workshop on drunk driving (pp. 35-76). Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Siegel, R.K. (1987). Cocaine use and driving behavior. Alcohol, Drugs and Driving, 3, 1-9.

Simpson, H.M. (1986). Epidemiology of road accidents involving marijuana. Alcohol, Drugs and Driving, 2, 15-30.

Smiley, A., Ziedman, K. & Moskowitz, H. (1981). Pharmacokinetics of drug effects on driving performance: Driving simulator tests of marijuana alone and in combination with alcohol (Contract 271-76-3316). Washington, DC: National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration .

United States Department of Transportation. (1984). Improved sobriety testing (DOT-HS-806-512). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The White House: President's Commission on Model State Drug Laws. (1993). Vol. III, Crimes Code. Washington, DC:Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Zador, P.L. (1991). Alcohol-related relative risk of fatal driver injuries in relation to driver age and sex. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 52(4), 302-310.

Zylman, R. (1974). A critical review of the literature on "alcohol involvement" in highway deaths. Accid. Anal. & Prev. , 6, 153-204.

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Tags: Fatalities & Accidents

Fatalities and Accidents Statistics

NSDUH 2005 DUI Report (PDF Download) Alcohol Crashes Up 1st Time in 10 Years Drunk Driving Fatalities - #'s the same MADD Reports DUI Deaths Up Gallup Poll - Drink and Driving Worldwide Traffic Deaths Up Drunk Driving Deaths Down - 1/4/04 Some Interesting B of J Statistics National DUI's Up 4% Join Together Online - Excellent Resource Highest Road Deaths Worldwide Highest DUI Related Deaths in U.S. Drunk Driving Accidents Up Alcohol-Related Car Deaths Down in 2004 National Online Resource Library for the Judiciary on Impaired Driving Related Articles in Other Libraries Increase Speed Limit and Death Rate - Lower! Drunk Driving Deaths Last Update: Sunday, March 25, 2007