Injuries and Deaths Related to Drinking and Driving
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Every day, 29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.” This means that every 50 minutes a person is killed in an alcohol-related accident. Research shows that young people are more likely to be involved in an alcohol-related accident than older people particularly those between 25 and 34 years of age when their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was .08% or higher.
Drinking and driving, even after consuming only a couple of alcoholic drinks, is dangerous. According to the CDC, after consuming around 2 alcoholic drinks, you could experience some loss of judgment, decline in visual functions and decline in divided attention. At just 3 alcoholic drinks a person is more likely to have difficulty steering and a reduced response to emergency driving situations. This greatly increases the likelihood for accidents or injuries.
In an effort to reduce the number of people killed by alcohol-impaired drivers, the CDC and other organizations have offered a number of preventative measures. The measures which have proven effective for reducing alcohol related accidents and injuries include:
- Active enforcement of drunk driving laws
- Ignition interlock requirements
- Sobriety Checkpoints
- Requiring substance abuse treatment
- Raising taxes on alcohol
Studies also show that increasing awareness about the effects of drinking and driving from an early age may help to reduce impaired driving. There has been a push recently to provide more resources for parents, teachers, and other influencers regarding the negative effects of alcohol which may decrease the number of alcohol-related accidents and injuries in the future.
More drastically, states across the country have considered reducing the BAC laws from .08% to .05%. Utah became the first state to pass legislation regarding the reduction, while several others are still taking it under consideration. It is unclear whether all 50 states will follow Utah’s lead as they did when the limit was lowered from .10% to .08%, or if they will seek alternative preventative measures. What is certain is that the number of people dying in alcohol-related accidents is devastating. Hopefully, as more people bring awareness to the problem, more can be done to stop this epidemic.
