New government data shows that drinking and driving dropped to historic lows in 2010.
However, the reason for the decline is not understood.
One suspicion is that people are drinking more often at home now, instead of going out and having to drive due to the slow economy.
The peak of drunk driving was in 2006 with 161 million instances according to Center for Disease Control and Prevention survey. In 2010, there were an estimated 112 million drunken driving instances, which is a 30% drop.
The data also indicates that
alcohol-impaired driving deaths declined 20%, from 13,491in 2006 to 10,839 in 2009. The number for 2010 is not yet available.
The CDC data also show that four in five drunken drivers were men and that about 4 million adults drink and drive each year.
The CDC estimates that these rates are most likely a “significant underestimate” because the data are self-reported, said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden.
Frieden also said that sobriety checkpoints by law-enforcement officials could save between 1,500 and 3,000 lives a year. Ignition interlock systems are also brought into question and considered as a way to save more lives as well. Only about one in five eligible
DUI offenders are enrolled in ignition interlock programs currently.
This report, however, does not make drunk driving any less of a problem.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving Chief Executive Kimberly Earle is continuing to urge Congress for funds to research in-vehicle technology that could save an estimated 8,000 lives a year.
Davis Law Group is a supporter of MADD Washington. For every drunk driving accident case Davis Law Group closes, we donate $500 to the Washington chapter of MADD.
Category: Drunk Driving (DUI) Collisions
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