December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month
December is National Impaired Drunk and Drugged Driving Month. Most often, driving impaired by drinking a
nd drugs spikes during the holiday season making this time of year a good time to focus on prevention and remember what’s at stake when behind the wheel. Last year, President Obama stated that in 2015,preventable alcohol-related driving fatalities accounted for nearly one third of all traffic accidents. Sadly, in spite of year of campaigning and advertising messages by law enforcement and other anti drunk driving groups, the numbers of individuals affected remain closely the same. Not only in December, drunk, drugged and distracted driving incidents are on the rise in our nation.
Last year, President Obama gave some very sound advice when he offered the following 5 points. He indicated that in order to prevent more drunk, drugged and distracted driving related injuries and fatalities, we must:
- Pledge not to get behind the wheel after drinking, and not to text while driving. Ever.
- Call 911 if we suspect a driver is drunk or impaired.
- Set a good example for teen drivers by modeling safe driving practices and choices.
- Provide better treatment options for Americans who struggle with alcohol and substance misuse disorders.
- Give law enforcement the resources and tools they need to address impaired driving
Putting an end to drunk and drugged driving is not easy. It requires personal examination, responsibility, and effort as well as effective public policies. Hopefully, this December, more individuals will be alert and attentive and traffic injuries and fatalities can be fewer.
The study also found some interesting facts relating to the statistics of drunk driving. They found that the rate of drunk driving is quite high and were surprised that there were not more deaths due to drunk driving because of this high rate. They indicate that, “alcohol-related highway crashes accounted for 13,365 deaths in 2010. In addition, alcohol-related highway crashes annually cost Americans an estimated $37 billion…Among major crimes, driving under the influence has one of the highest arrest rates with more than 1.4 million DUI arrests in 2010. In 2010, alcohol was involved in 2,020 (or 47.2 percent) of pedestrian fatalities, 11,087 (or 39.9 percent) of vehicle occupant fatalities, 209 (or 33.8 percent) of pedal cyclist fatalities. Pedestrians are more vulnerable than highway vehicle occupants are. In addition, drivers involved in traffic crashes that resulted in pedestrian fatalities had less than two-thirds the rate of alcohol involvement as did the pedestrians killed.”
