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One in Five US Motorists Admits to Drunk Driving

It’s not the kind of news that American motorists want to hear just a few days before an alcohol-heavy holiday weekend.  Unfortunately, a survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirms that the drunk driving threat is still as strong as ever.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the survey results as part of its annual Labor Day crackdown.  The campaign includes a television and radio advertising campaign that has cost the agency approximately $13 million.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the results of the survey, and said that this proved drunk driving is still a serious problem in the United States.  According to the survey, one in five American drivers admitted to driving under the influence the previous year.  That translates into an estimated 17 million American drivers who admit to drinking and getting behind the wheel.  According to the survey which was conducted in 2008 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 8% of the approximately 7,000 US motorists aged above 16 who responded to the survey, said they had driven under the influence at least once in the previous year. “Driving under the influence” means driving with an alcohol level of more than the legally allowed limit.

The survey also found that approximately 8% of the population had been a passenger in a car driven by a drunk driver at least once in the previous year.  24% of these passengers were men aged between 21 and 24.  In 2008, the year the survey was taken, approximately 31% of all fatal auto accidents were caused by alcohol use.  That makes it 10,684 accidents involving intoxicated drivers.  Few of the teenage drivers in the survey admitted to drunk driving.  However, those aged between 16 and 20 who admitted to drunk driving, said that they drank almost 6 alcoholic beverages at one sitting.  That meets the definition of binge drinking, a serious problem among teen motorists.

California drunk driving accident lawyers are not exactly surprised at the findings of the survey.  However, it should serve as a reminder that on any given day or night, you can expect thousands of motorists to be out there driving in an impaired condition.  Those risks will increase markedly over the Labor Day holiday.  It’s a fact that alcohol-related accident fatalities have declined significantly over the past five years.  Much of this has to do with the fact that there has been increased enforcement of drunk driving across the country.  There are several campaigns throughout the year aimed at keeping intoxicated motorists off the road.  While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has its annual crackdowns against drunk driving, state governments and local counties also do their part through sobriety checkpoints and patrols.  This has meant a substantial decrease in drunk driving accident fatalities.  But that doesn’t mean that it’s time to be complacent.  Drunk drivers are still the number one threat on American roads.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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