FACT SHEET

Drive Hammered - Get Nailed

January 2008

Impaired Driving Creates Serious Consequences in the United States

• Traffic collisions are the leading cause of death for Americans ages 2-34. [CDC]   Alcohol-related crashes killed 17,602 Americans in 2006. This is essentially unchanged from the 17,590 alcohol-related fatalities in 2005.  [NHTSA]
  
  
• In 2006, 15,121 fatalities involved a driver or motorcycle operator, pedestrian or cyclist who had a .08 or above BAC (blood alcohol concentration) compared to 15,102 in 2005.  [NHTSA]
  
  
• Looking only at drivers or motorcycle operators where the highest BAC in the crash was .08 or above, 13,470 fatalities occurred in 2006 compared with 13,582 fatalities in 2005.  [NHTSA]

• Each year drunk and drugged driving leads to one death every 33 minutes, one injury every two minutes and1.5 million arrests nationally.  [NHTSA]

• An average alcohol-related fatality in the U.S. costs $3.2 million:  $1.2 million in direct monetary costs and $2.0 million in indirect costs.  [NHTSA]
  

Impaired Driving Creates Serious Consequences in Washington

• From 2000 to 2004, more Washingtonians between the ages 1 and 34 were killed as a result of traffic crashes than from any other single cause.  [CDC]
  
  
• Economic impact of traffic crashes in Washington is estimated at $5.310 Billion.  [NHTSA]
  
  
• The number one driver factor contributing to fatality crashes in Washington is driver impairment.  [WTSC]
  
  
• Between 2001 and 2005, impairment accounted for 6 percent of all collisions, 22 percent of all disabling collisions and 47 percent fatal collisions.  [FARS]

• In 2006, traffic crashes killed 63O people on Washington’s roadways.  Drinking drivers accounted for nearly 40 percent of the total (252 deaths).  [WTSC/FARS]
  
  
• Drivers (and motorcycle operators) with BAC levels above .08 were involved in 225 of these deaths (36 percent of all 2006 fatalities).  [NHTSA/FARS]
  
  
• In Washington between 1996 and 2005, 77 percent of all impaired driver-involved fatalities were male, 23 percent were female.  [FARS]
  
  
• Between 1996 and 2005, impaired driver-involved fatalities by age were:
  
  • 17 percent were age 15-20
  • 30 percent were ages 21-30
  • 21 percent were ages 31-40  [FARS]
    
    
• Between 1996 and 2005, impaired driver-involved fatalities by race/origin were:
  • White: 4.38 per 100,000 population (1,588 persons killed)
  • Black : 4.55 per 100,000 population (66 persons killed
  • Native American: 15.88 per 100,000 population (111 persons killed)
  • Asian/Pacific Islander: 2.69 per 100,000 population (71 persons killed)
  • Hispanic: 7.07 per 100,000 population (237 persons killed)  [FARS]
    
    
• Between 1996 and 2005, 71 percent of impaired driver-involved fatalities occurred between 6 pm and 6 am.  [FARS]

Top 10 Counties for Alcohol-Related Fatalities by Number
Rank by Number of Alcohol-Related Fatalities

[NHTSA]

Top 10 Counties for Alcohol-Related Fatalities by Rate
Rank by Rate of Alcohol-Related Fatalities.  Median Rate for all U.S. Counties : 7.46

[NHTSA]

Impaired Driving Is a Crime and Will Not Be Tolerated

• Over 42,000 DUI arrests were made in Washington State in 2006.

• As of July 1, 2007, some individuals arrested for DUI have face felony charges when they have four previous DUI arrests within a 10 year period, which would carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.  Previously, DUI could only be charged as a misdemeanor, regardless of how many prior DUIs were on a person’s driving record.  [RCW 46.615055(13)]

• A DUI conviction means license suspension, ignition interlock, and jail time/electronic home monitoring. The court can order you into alcohol or drug treatment. Fines and fees can add up to $5,000.  A DUI can double your insurance rates.  [WTSC]
  

Efforts to Combat Impaired Driving Need to be Stepped Up

• Dramatic gains in DUI reduction in the early 1980s and 1990s have been followed by sluggish progress in the last eight years.  Between 1980 and 1992, Washington experienced a two-thirds decline in drinking-driver-involved fatality rate.  Between 1993 and 1999, the rate dropped by one-third.  However, over the past eight years (from 1999 and 2006), the rate has remained almost flat.  Thus our dramatic progress of the 1980’s and 1990’s has reached a virtual standstill.  This trend is occurring both nationally and internationally.  A recent report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that “impaired driving levels have changed very little since 1992.”  [Countermeasures]
  
  
• Zero Traffic Deaths:  Here in Washington, representatives of federal, state, regional, and local government agencies, community organizations, tribal nations, and private organizations came together in 2006 to forge Washington’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan, also known as Target Zero.  The Target Zero vision reflects Washington’s long term goal of eliminating all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030.  The plan was formally adopted and signed by Gov. Gregoire in February 2007, and it offers a comprehensive array of proven strategies to combat our state’s most pressing traffic safety problems, including impaired driving.  One of these strategies is to conduct high-visibility, multi-jurisdictional DUI emphasis patrols.  [Target Zero]
  

Impairment Starts With the First Drink

• Alcohol impairs driving skills at any level above zero BAC (see Chart 1, “Effects of Alcohol on Driving Skills”).  By .05 BAC, the majority of drivers are significantly impaired, and by .08 BAC all drivers experience impairment in critical driving-related skills.   [Moskowitz and Fiorentino, 2000]

Chart 1, “Effects of Alcohol on Driving Skills”

• Washington law defines DUI per se as involving any driver with a BAC of at least .08 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC).  Drivers can be arrested if they are impaired with BAC less than .08.  Drivers under age 21 can be arrested with a .02 percent BAC.   [RCW 46.61.502-503]

• A 21-34 year-old driver with a BAC between .05 and.79 (under the per se limit of .08) is four times more likely to die in a crash than a sober driver in the same age group.  A male driver with age 16-20 a BAC between .05 and .079 is fifteen times more likely to die in a crash than a sober driver in the same age group.  [Zador et. al., 2000]

CDC: Centers for Disease Control
FARS: Fatality Reporting Analysis System
Countermeasures:  Countermeasures That Work: A Highway Safety Countermeasure Guide for State Highway Safety Offices. Washington DC: US Dept. of Transportation, DOT HS 809 980, 2006
Target Zero:  Washington State’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan: Target Zero. (2007)
Moskowitz and Fiorentino, 2000:  Effects of Low Doses of Alcohol on Driving-Related Skills, Literature Review, DOT HS 809 028
NHTSA: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/STSI/53_WA/2006/53_WA_2006.htm#CTY_MAPS2
RCW: Revised Code of Washington
WTSC: Washington Traffic Safety Commission
Zador, et al., 2000: Relative Risk of Fatal Crash Involvement by BAC, Age, and Gender,
DOT HS 809 050