President Barack Obama proclaimed December 2015 to be National Impaired Driving Prevention Month and urges people to make responsible decisions and take appropriate measure to prevent impaired driving.
Drive Safely and Responsibly!
FACTS:
- Drunk driving crashes continue to represent roughly one-third of fatalities, resulting in 9,967 deaths in 2014
- Alcohol-impaired motor vehicle crashes cost more than an estimated $37 billion annually
- Drunk driving is often a symptom of a larger problem: alcohol misuse and abuse
- Drivers at a breach alcohol level of 0.08 percent, the legal limit in every state, were about four times more likely to crash than sober drivers
- In the 2013-2014 National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drivers were tested for a large number of potentially impairing drugs using both oral fluid (saliva) and blood samples. Marijuana (THC) was the only single category of drug for which study findings reached statistical significance.
- Marijuana users were about 25 percent more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers with no evidence of marijuana use. Other factors—such as age and gender—appear to account for the increased crash risk amount marijuana users.
- Any drug–whether illegal, filled by a prescription or over-the counter can impair a person’s ability to safely operate a vehicle.
- Many US teenagers have willingly accepted a ride from a drunk driver within the past year, a new survey reveals. Nearly one in three teens surveyed—30 percent—said during the previous 12 months they had accepted a ride from someone who'd been drinking alcohol. Further, one in four said they'd be willing to ride with a driver who has been drinking.
- "Tweeners" who think marijuana is acceptable may be more likely to drive drunk or ride with a drunk driver when they reach high school, a new study suggests. The researchers followed nearly 1,200 US middle school students from 2009 to 2013. The kids were assessed at ages 12, 14 and 16.
- Each day in the United States, more than nine people are killed and more than 1,153 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.
- At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010.
Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): www.nhtsa.gov/StopImpairedDriving
NHTSA Distracted Driving Video: https://youtu.be/KAQzQgcnsEs
Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA): www.ghsa.org
GHSA Drug-impaired Driving Laws, December 2015: http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/dre_perse_laws.html
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD): www.madd.org; 24-Hour Victim Help Line: 877.MADD.HELP
Distracted Driving: www.distraction.gov