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Drug Related Car Crashes on Rise in Uta

A recent report in a Salt Lake City newspaper indicated that drug-related fatal car crashes are on the rise in Utah again.  The report indicates that 108 individuals from Utah were killed in incidents where someone chose to drink or use drugs before getting behind the wheel in a one year period. Also during that year, the amount of deadly collisions where a driver tested positive for drug use rose 7 percent— from 67% to 72 %.  Within the past decade, these fatalities account for more than a quarter of all fatal crashes within Utah during the 1 year period that was examined.

The report further indicated that most often, marijuana, meth, depressants and narcotics were found within the driver’s system. Perhaps this prompted Utah lawmakers to recently pass a bill which dropped the legal blood alcohol content for driving to .05 percent – making Utah the lowest in the nation.

The DUI report also indicated the following statistics:

  • 81% of drivers arrested for DUI had a blood alcohol content of .08% or higher.
  • 12% of those arrested were under the legal drinking age of 21, with 14 being the youngest.
  • The average blood alcohol content for those arrested was .15%, with the highest being .42%.

Although the recent bill to lower the legal blood alcohol content for driving is significant, more needs to be done to lower the rate of drug related car crashes in Utah.

Source: Desert News, Heather Miller, DUI/Alcohol-Related Crashes Fatalities in Utah, DUI/Alcohol-Related Crashes Fatalities in Utah

Drunk Driving

According to the US Department of Transportation, every two hours, 3 people are killed in highway crashes due to drunk driving. The consequences of drunk driving include: arrests, property damage, injuries, and thousands of deaths each year. A recent report published by the Bureau of Transportation indicates that, “an estimated 4 million U.S. adults reported driving under the influence of alcohol at least once in 2010, yielding an estimated 112 million alcohol-impaired driving episodes.”

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.”

Drunk driving has been shown to be more prevalent among men, with men being involved in close to 81% of the fatal incidents involving drunk driving. Also, recreational vehicles, especially boats, have been examined in their relation to drunk driving and it was found in the recent study that alcohol was involved in 22 percent of fatalities involving boats. In any situation, driving drunk can impair a driver’s judgment, balance, vision, and reaction time.

Within the workplace, pilots and commercial truck drivers are often tested, as well as many others, to determine their blood-alcohol level. While most reports are positive in this area, indicating a lessening of drunk driving, studies have still brought to light that problems do exist and continued testing is absolutely necessary.

Source:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Drunk Driving by the Numbers- United States, 2010; available at https://www.rita.dot.gov.

Drunk drivingMichael Phelps receives second DUI

It’s been 10 years since the last time Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges. He’s headed to rehab again after being booked in Baltimore, MD, on charges of DUI, excessive speeding and crossing double lane lines.

In a series of tweets, he indicated, “I’m going to take some time away to attend a program that will provide the help I need to better understand myself. Swimming is a major part of my life, but right now I need to focus my attention on me as an individual, and do the necessary work to learn from this experience and make better decisions in the future.”

Rival Olympic swimmer and competitor Ryan Lochte is quoted as responding to the arrest by saying, “He has so much money to get a driver. I even have a driver. It just stinks for the sport of swimming. But he will become smarter from this. Luckily he did not hurt himself or someone else.”

USA Swimming announced that they are suspending Michael Phelps for six months due to Code of Conduct violations. He will have to forfeit payments from his USA Swimming stipend during this suspension because of the DUI and he has agreed to withdraw from the 2015 FINA World Swimming Championships held in Russia next August.

As previously mentioned, this isn’t the first time that Phelps has been suspended and made headlines for DUI/drug abuse. During 2009, he was photographed inhaling from a marijuana pipe during a party and received a three-month suspension. The marijuana stint resulted Kellogg dropping his sponsorship. Further, media also questioned him during the 2008 Beijing Olympics as to whether he was using performance-enhancing drugs, but successfully passed 9 drug tests.

Teamusa.org reports that, “the current sanction sends a message to fans that Phelps’ actions are unacceptable and not in line with USA Swimming’s code of conduct, which states that, ‘The privilege of membership may be withdrawn or denied by USA Swimming at any time where USA Swimming determines that a member’s conduct is inconsistent with the mission of the organization or the best interest of the sport and those who participate in it.’”

 

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