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IN: Impaired Driving – Lifesaving Things You Can Do

Dear Valued Customer,

Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. The focus of this issue of “—————–” is to provide you with the lifesaving things you can do to counter the scourge responsible for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.

Read on and get the facts about drunk driving, understand how big the problem actually is, get the Tools to Prevent Drunk Driving, learn how to avoid a DUI, and much more. Then share this invaluable information by forwarding this eNewsletter to your family, friends and colleagues.

We appreciate your continued business and look forward to serving you.

Kind regards,

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Drinking & Driving: A Threat to Everyone

Transportaion_Events-Holidays_People_Misc_CocktailsAndKeys

Adults reported drinking and driving about 112 million times in 2010.

85% of drinking and driving episodes were reported by binge drinkers.

Four in 5 people who drink and drive are men.

US adults drank too much and got behind the wheel about 112 million times in 2010. Though episodes of driving after drinking too much (“drinking and driving”) have gone down by 30% during the past 5 years, it remains a serious problem in the US. Alcohol-impaired drivers* are involved in about 1 in 3 crash deaths, resulting in nearly 11,000 deaths in 2009.

Driving drunk is never OK. Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same.

*These drivers had blood alcohol concentrations of at least 0.08%. This is the illegal blood alcohol concentration level for adult drivers in the United States.

Issue Details

Problem expanded

People who drink and drive put everyone on the road in danger

Certain groups are more likely to drink and drive than others.

  • Men were responsible for 4 in 5 episodes (81%) of drinking and driving in 2010.
  • Young men ages 21-34 made up only 11% of the U.S. adult population in 2010, yet were responsible for 32% of all instances of drinking and driving.
  • 85% of drinking and driving episodes were reported by people who also reported binge drinking. Binge drinking means 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women during a short period of time.

Your best defense against a drunk driver is to buckle up every time.

  • Every person in every seat should be buckled up on every trip. Seat belts reduce serious injuries and deaths from crashes by about 50%.
  • Primary enforcement seat belt laws allow police to stop vehicles just because someone is not wearing a seat belt. These state laws are effective in increasing seat belt use.

There are proven ways to prevent people from drinking and driving.

  • At sobriety checkpoints, police stop drivers to judge if they are driving under the influence of alcohol. More widespread, frequent use of these checkpoints could save about 1,500 to 3,000 lives on the road each year.
  • Minimum legal drinking age laws prohibit selling alcohol to people under age 21 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Keeping and enforcing 21 as the minimum legal drinking age helps keep young, inexperienced drivers from drinking and driving.
  • Ignition interlocks prevent drivers who were convicted of alcohol-impaired driving from operating their vehicles if they have been drinking. Interlocks are effective in reducing re-arrest rates from drinking and driving by about two-thirds while the device is on the vehicle.

Graphic: Less than 2% of adults report drinking and driving each year, but they put everyone on the road at risk.

SOURCE: CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, US 2010

Drinking and driving episodes by gender and age, 2010

Graph: Drinking and driving episodes by gender and age, 2010

SOURCE: CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, US 2010

Some likely effects on driving

Graph: Some likely effects on driving

Adapted from The ABCs of BAC, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2005, and How to Control Your Drinking, WR Miller and RF Munoz, University of New Mexico, 1982.

Self-reported annual drinking and driving episodes

Graph: Self-reported annual drinking and driving episodes

SOURCE: CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, US 2006, 2008 and 2010

What Can Be Done 

Icon: BuildingsStates can:

  • Enforce 0.08% blood alcohol concentration and minimum legal drinking age laws.
  • Expand the use of sobriety checkpoints.
  • Require ignition interlocks for everyone convicted of drinking and driving, starting with their first offense.
  • Consider including strategies to reduce binge drinking—such as increasing alcohol taxes—to reduce drinking and driving, since the two behaviors are linked.
  • Pass primary enforcement seat belt laws that cover everyone in the car.

Icon: Business professionalsEmployers can:

  • Set policies that immediately take away all work-related driving privileges for any employee cited for drinking and driving while using a company or personal vehicle for work purposes.
  • Use workplace health promotion programs to communicate the dangers of drinking and driving, including information directed to family members.

Icon: Healthcare professionalsHealth professionals can:

  • Help patients realize that car crashes are the leading cause of death for everyone ages 5-34 and that 1 in 3 crash deaths involves a drunk driver.
  • Routinely screen patients for risky drinking patterns, including binge drinking, and provide a brief intervention—a 10–15 minute counseling session—for patients who screen positive.

everyone_60px.jpgEveryone can:

  • Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same.
    • Before drinking, designate a nondrinking driver when with a group.
    • If out drinking, get a ride home or call a taxi.
    • Don’t let friends drink and drive.
  • Choose not to binge drink themselves and help others not to do it.
  • Talk with a doctor or nurse about drinking and driving and request counseling if drinking is causing health, work, or social problems.
  • Buckle up every time, no matter how short the trip. Encourage passengers in the car to buckle up, including those in the back seat.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Drinking and Driving: A Threat to Everyone” http://www.cdc.gov website. Accessed November 28, 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/drinkinganddriving/

© Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.

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Impaired Driving: Get The Facts

Transportation_GirlDrivingCoolCarEvery day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 48 minutes.1  The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $51 billion.2

Thankfully, there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving.

How big is the problem?

  • In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.1
  • Of the 1,210 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2010, 211 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.1
  • Of the 211 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2010, over half (131) were riding in the vehicle with the alcohol-impaired driver.1
  • In 2010, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.3 That’s one percent of the 112 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.4
  • Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are often used in combination with alcohol.5

112 million times a year alcohol-impaired drivers put you at risk. CDC Vital Signs. http://www.cdc.gov/VitalSigns/DrinkingAndDriving/

CDC Vital Signs: Drinking and Driving: A Threat to Everyone

US adults drank too much and got behind the wheel about 112 million times in 2010. Alcohol-impaired drivers* are involved in about 1 in 3 crash deaths, resulting in over 10,000 deaths in 2010.

*These drivers had blood alcohol concentrations of at least 0.08%. This is the illegal blood alcohol concentration level for adult drivers in the United States.

Learn more

Who is most at risk?

  • Young people:
    • At all levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), the risk of being involved in a crash is greater for young people than for older people.6
    • Among drivers with BAC levels of 0.08 % or higher involved in fatal crashes in 2010,  more than one out of every 3 were between 21 and 24 years of age (34%). The next two largest groups were ages 25 to 34 (30%) and 35 to 44 (25%).1
  • Motorcyclists:
    • Among motorcyclists killed in fatal crashes in 2010, 28% had BACs of 0.08% or greater. 1
    • Nearly half of the alcohol-impaired motorcyclists killed each year are age 40 or older, and motorcyclists ages 40-44 have the highest percentage of deaths with BACs of 0.08% or greater (44%).7
  • Drivers with prior driving while impaired (DWI) convictions:
    • Drivers with a BAC of 0.08% or higher involved in fatal crashes were four times more likely to have a prior conviction for DWI than were drivers with no alcohol in their system? (8% and 2%, respectively).1

A Closer Look

  • Sobriety checkpoints: traffic stops where law enforcement officers assess drivers’ level of alcohol impairment. These checkpoints consistently reduce alcohol-related crashes, typically by 9%.
  • Ignition interlocks: devices that are installed in the vehicles of people who have been convicted of driving while impaired. They prevent operation of the vehicle by anyone with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above a specified safe level (usually 0.02% – 0.04%). When installed, interlocks are associated with about a 70% reduction in arrest rates for impaired driving.

How can deaths and injuries from impaired driving be prevented?

Effective measures include:

  • Actively enforcing existing 0.08% BAC laws, minimum legal drinking age laws, and zero tolerance laws for drivers younger than 21 years old in all states.3,8,9
  • Promptly taking away the driver’s licenses of people who drive while intoxicated.10
  • Using sobriety checkpoints.11
  • Putting health promotion efforts into practice that influence economic, organizational, policy, and school/community action.12,13
  • Using community-based approaches to alcohol control and DWI prevention.10,14,15
  • Requiring mandatory substance abuse assessment and treatment, if needed, for DWI offenders.16
  • Raising the unit price of alcohol by increasing taxes.17,18

Areas for continued research:

  • Reducing the illegal BAC threshold  to 0.05%.17,19,20
  • Mandatory blood alcohol testing when traffic crashes result in injury.17

Effects of BAC

The more alcohol you consume, the more impaired you become.Learn how your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) affects your ability to drive.

What safety steps can individuals take?

Whenever your social plans involve alcohol, make plans so that you don’t have to drive after drinking. For example:

  • Prior to any drinking, designate a non-drinking driver when with a group.
  • Don’t let your friends drive impaired. Take their keys away.
  • If you have been drinking, get a ride home or call a taxi.
  • If you’re hosting a party where alcohol will be served, remind your guests to plan ahead and designate their sober driver; offer alcohol-free beverages; and make sure all guests leave with a sober driver.

References

  1. Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Traffic Safety Facts 2010: Alcohol-Impaired Driving. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2012 [cited 2012 Sep 28]. Available at URL:http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811606.PDF External Web Site Icon
  2. Blincoe L, Seay A, Zaloshnja E, Miller T, Romano E, Luchter S, et al. The Economic Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2000. Washington (DC): Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); 2002.
  3. Department of Justice (US), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Crime in the United States 2010: Uniform Crime Reports. Washington (DC): FBI; 2011 [cited Sept 29 2012]. Available at URL: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/summary
  4. Bergen G.  Shults RA.  Rudd RA.  (October 4, 2011).  Vital Signs:  Alcohol-Impaired Driving Among Adults –United States, 2010.  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.  60:39:1351.
  5. Jones RK, Shinar D, Walsh JM. State of knowledge of drug-impaired driving. Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); 2003. Report DOT HS 809 642.
  6. Zador PL, Krawchuk SA, Voas RB. Alcohol-related relative risk of driver fatalities and driver involvement in fatal crashes in relation to driver age and gender: an update using 1996 data. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 2000;61:387-95.
  7. Paulozzi LJ, Patel R. Changes in motorcycle crash mortality rates by blood alcohol concentration and age — United States, 1983 – 2003. MMWR 2004;53(47):1103-6.
  8. Shults RA, Sleet DA, Elder RW, Ryan GW, Sehgal M. Association between state-level drinking and driving countermeasures and self-reported alcohol-impaired driving. Inj Prev 2002;8:106—10.
  9. Guide to Community Preventive Services. Reducing excessive alcohol use: enhanced enforcement of laws prohibiting sales to minors. [cited 2009 Nov 6]. Available at URL:www.thecommunityguide.org/alcohol/lawsprohibitingsales.html External Web Site Icon
  10. DeJong W. Hingson R. Strategies to reduce driving under the influence of alcohol. Annual Review of Public Health 1998;19:359-78.
  11. Elder RW, Shults RA, Sleet DA, et al. Effectiveness of sobriety checkpoints for reducing alcohol-involved crashes. Traffic Injury Prevention 2002;3:266-74.
  12. Howat, P, Sleet, D, Elder, R, Maycock, B. Preventing alcohol-related traffic injury: a health promotion approach. Traffic Injury Prevention, 2004;5:208-219.
  13. Hingson, R, Sleet, DA. Modifying alcohol use to reduce motor vehicle injury. In Gielen, Ac, Sleet, DA, DiClemente, R (Eds). Injury and Violence Prevention: Behavior change Theories, Methods, and Applications. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006.
  14. Holder HD, Gruenewald PJ, Ponicki WR, et al. Effect of community-based interventions on high-risk drinking and alcohol-related injuries. Journal of the American Medical Association 2000;284:2341-7.
  15. Shults RA, Elder RW, Nichols J, et al. Effectiveness of multicomponent programs with community mobilization for reducing alcohol-impaired driving. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2009; 37(4):360–371.
  16. Wells-Parker E, Bangert-Drowns R, McMillen R, et al. Final results from a meta-analysis of remedial interventions with drink/drive offenders. Addiction 1995;90:907-26.
  17. National Committee on Injury Prevention and Control. Injury prevention: meeting the challenge. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 1989;5(3 Suppl):123-7.
  18. Guide to Community Preventive Services. Reducing excessive alcohol use: increasing alcohol taxes.
  19. Howat P, Sleet D, Smith I. Alcohol and driving: is the .05% blood alcohol concentration limit justified? Drug and Alcohol Review 1991;10(1):151-66.
  20. Wagenaar AC, Maldonado-Molina MM, Ma L, et al. Effects of legal BAC limits on fatal crash involvement: analyses of 28 states from 1976 through 2002. J Safety Res 2007 38:493-99.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Impaired Driving: Get the Facts” http://www.cdc.gov website. Accessed November 28, 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html

© Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.

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Distracted Driving

Transportation_TextingWhileDrivingEach day in the United States, more than 9 people are killed and more than 1,060 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.1 Distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving. Distracted driving can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash.

There are three main types of distraction:

  • Visual: taking your eyes off the road;
  • Manual: taking your hands off the wheel; and
  • Cognitive: taking your mind off of driving.2

Distracted driving activities include things like using a cell phone, texting, and eating. Using in-vehicle technologies (such as navigation systems) can also be sources of distraction. While any of these distractions can endanger the driver and others, texting while driving is especially dangerous because it combines all three types of distraction.2

How big is the problem?

  • In 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 3,267 in 2010. An additional, 387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2011, compared to 416,000 people injured in 2010.1
  • In 2010, nearly one in five crashes (18%) in which someone was injured involved distracted driving.1
  • In June 2011, more than 196 billion text messages were sent or received in the US, up nearly 50% from June 2009.1

CDC Distracted Driving Study

A CDC study analyzed 2011 data on distracted driving, including talking on a cell phone or reading or sending texts or emails behind the wheel. The researchers compared the prevalence of talking on a cell phone or texting or emailing while driving in the United States and seven European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Key findings included the following:

Talking on a cell phone while driving

  • 69% of drivers in the United States ages 18-64 reported that they had talked on their cell phone while driving within the 30 days before they were surveyed.
  • In Europe, this percentage ranged from 21% in the United Kingdom to 59% in Portugal.

Texting or emailing while driving

  • 31% of U.S. drivers ages 18-64 reported that they had read or sent text messages or email messages while driving at least once within the 30 days before they were surveyed.
  • In Europe, this percentage ranged from 15% in Spain to 31% in Portugal.3

What are the risk factors?

  • Some activities—such as texting—take the driver’s attention away from driving more frequently and for longer periods than other distractions.4
  • Younger, inexperienced drivers under the age of 20 may be at increased risk; they have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.4
  • Texting while driving is linked with drinking and driving or riding with someone who has been drinking among high school students in the United States, according to a CDC study that analyzed self-report data from the 2011 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Students who reported engaging in risky driving behaviors said that they did so at least once in the 30 days prior to the survey.5 Key findings from the study revealed that:
    • Nearly half of all U.S. high school students aged 16 years or older text or email while driving.
    • Students who text while driving are nearly twice as likely to ride with a driver who has been drinking and five times as likely to drink and drive than students who don’t text while driving.
    • Students who frequently text while driving are more likely to ride with a drinking driver or drink and drive than students who text while driving less frequently.5

What is being done?

  • Many states are enacting laws—such as banning texting while driving, or using graduated driver licensing systems for teen drivers—to help raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and to keep it from occurring. However, the effectiveness of cell phone and texting laws on decreasing distracted driving-related crashes requires further study.
  • On September 30, 2009, President Obama issued an executive order prohibiting federal employees from texting while driving on government business or with government equipment.6
  • On October 27, 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enacted a ban that prohibits commercial vehicle drivers from texting while driving.7

Resources for More Information

References

  1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Facts and Statistics. Available fromhttp://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.htmlExternal Web Site Icon.  Accessed May 23, 2015.
  2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, September 2010. Publication no. DOT-HS-811-379. Available fromhttp://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/index.htmlExternal Web Site Icon. Accessed May 23, 2015.
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mobile Device Use While Driving — United States and Seven European Countries, 2011. MMWR 2013 / 62(10);177-182. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6210a1.htm?s_cid=mm6210a1_w
  4. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Policy Statement and Compiled Facts on Distracted Driving. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2011. Available from: http://www.nhtsa.gov/External Web Site Icon. Accessed May 23, 2015.
  5. Olsen EO, Shults RA, Eaton DK. Texting while driving and other risky motor vehicle behaviors among US high school students. Pediatrics. 2013;131(6):e1708-e1715.http://pediatrics.aapublications.org/content/early/2013/05/08/peds.2012-3462.abstractExternal Web Site Icon
  6. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Regulations. Available from:http://www.distraction.gov/content/dot-action/regulations.htmlExternal Web Site Icon. Accessed May 23, 2015.
  7. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Limiting the Use of Wireless Communication Devices. Washington DC: US Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 2011. Available from:http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/External Web Site Icon. Accessed May 23, 2015

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Distracted Driving” http://www.cdc.gov website. Accessed November 28, 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Distracted_Driving/index.html

© Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.