Drinking and Driving: Why It Happens and How to Prevent It
In the United States, over 84% of adults report drinking alcohol at least once in their lifetime. This section provides an overview of important demographics that need to be considered when approaching the problem of alcohol-impaired driving. First, based on the public health perspective outlined in Chapter 1, the importance of considering health equity and the social determinants of health is discussed. During the Labor Day holiday period, we typically see an increase in impaired-driving deaths — and that’s why you’ll likely see more law enforcement on the roads. Young adults have experienced a greater proportional reduction in alcohol-related traffic deaths than older adults in the last 20 years. Sixteen- to 20-year-olds have had the greatest decline in alcohol-related traffic deaths since 1982, down 56 percent, from 5,244 to 2,329 (see figure 3).
Impaired Driving
- The authors concluded that virtually all drivers tested in the studies reviewed exhibited impairment on some critical driving measure by the time they reached a BAC of 0.08 percent.
- This increase in affordability over this time period is reflected in beer and wine prices as well (Kerr et al., 2013a) (see Chapter 3 for more information on alcohol pricing and taxation).
- Beyond the physiological effects of alcohol, an individual’s perceptions of his or her level of impairment can also affect his or her behavior.
- Despite efforts by organizations like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) to eliminate drunk driving, it remains a leading cause of road fatalities.
- This slows down reaction time, increasing the risk of car accidents as you cannot react as fast as you would without alcohol in your system.
Chronic alcohol use raises your risk for health problems, including heart disease, liver disease, cancer, and mental health disorders. Chronic alcohol use and binge drinking damage the heart muscle, making it harder for the heart to pump blood effectively. Alcohol can also contribute to arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) and hypertension (high blood pressure), increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. The risks of driving under the influence of alcohol far outweigh any potential benefits.
Driving After Drinking
Despite laws making it illegal to sell alcohol to people under 21 and for drivers that age to drive after any drinking, most people in this age group who drive after drinking are unaware that it is illegal to do so. Overall, 21 percent of the driving-age public reported driving a vehicle within 2 hours of consuming alcoholic beverages in the previous year, and about 10 percent of these trips were driven at a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher. In general, people who drive after drinking believe they can consume up to three drinks in a 2-hour period and still drive safely. Those who do not drink and drive think their limit is about one-third less, or two drinks (Royal 2000). The FARS does not routinely record the race and ethnicity of people who die in motor vehicle crashes. However, from 1990 to 1994 a special initiative linked nearly 200,000 records from FARS with death certificate information on race and ethnicity from the National Bureau of Health Statistics (Voas and Tippetts 1999).
The Dangers of Drunk Driving
The NHTSA survey described above (Royal 2000) also asked participants about their perceived chance of being stopped and arrested for drinking and driving. More than half the respondents thought it would be at least somewhat likely that they would be stopped by the police if they drove after having too much to drink. However, 38 percent of respondents believed it would be at least somewhat likely that if they drove after drinking too much they would be stopped by the police, arrested, and convicted. Only 2 percent believed it would be almost certain that all three of these things would happen. Not only are males more likely than females to report driving after drinking, they typically drive longer distances after drinking.
Traffic deaths among elderly people and children are less likely to be alcohol related than those among young and middle-aged adults. Alcohol-related traffic deaths are more likely to occur at lower BACs among 16- to 20-year-olds, compared with other age groups. A majority of alcohol-related traffic deaths among 16- to 20-year-olds occur at below 0.15 percent BAC (i.e., referring to the highest BAC of a driver or pedestrian involved in the crash). Overall, however, a majority of traffic deaths occur at above 0.15 percent BAC (NHTSA 2003a). Tough enforcement of drunk-driving laws has been a major factor in reducing drunk-driving deaths since the 1980s.
Alcohol-related road accidents are a widespread problem that claims the lives of many individuals. The National Highway Traffic Administration reports that over 30 people die daily in alcohol-involved crashes and that one person is killed every 45 minutes due to alcohol-impaired drivers. Despite efforts by organizations like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) to eliminate drunk driving, it remains a leading cause of road fatalities. In fact, in many states with AI/AN reservations, tribal law enforcement officers do not have the authority to stop a driver suspected of being impaired once the suspect crosses the border, leaving their jurisdiction.
urrent Environment: Alcohol, Driving, and Drinking and Driving
- If all States adopted these countermeasures, which have been shown to reduce alcohol-related motor vehicle crash injuries and deaths, it is possible the United States would again experience declines in alcohol-related deaths and injuries.
- Because the average age of respondents in the survey was 44, these findings indicate that those who start drinking at an early age are more likely to be in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes during both adolescence and adulthood.
- This indicates primary enforcement safety belt laws can be particularly effective in reducing motor vehicle occupant deaths involving drinking drivers.
- Another important stakeholder is the department of transportation, which typically has responsibility for implementing drink–driving laws and other policies to improve road safety and health, and which often has expertise in communication to promote behaviour change.
- Chronic and excessive alcohol use disrupts the balance of bacteria in the gut microbiome (dysbiosis).
The nature of this environment has important implications for drinking and driving behaviors (Bond et al., 2008; Huckle et al., 2006), as well as the relative success of interventions designed to reduce alcohol-impaired driving (Xuan et al., 2015a). Research has long indicated that raising consequences of drinking and driving the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) to 21 has reduced alcohol-related crashes among drivers under 21 (Shults et al. 2001). This study raises the possibility that delaying underage drinking may reduce alcohol-related crash involvement among adults as well (Hingson et al. 2002).
While this disparity has held constant for decades, there is limited research suggesting that female drivers are becoming increasingly involved in alcohol-impaired driving crashes (Vaca et al., 2014). Luoma and Sivak (2014) examined the differences in road safety among the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The authors found that while the United States had the lowest average alcohol consumption per capita, it also reported the highest number of alcohol-related driving fatalities. These findings do not account for the differences in limits set by laws between countries and the underreporting of alcohol-related crashes, yet they highlight an important disparity in alcohol-related crash fatalities. Lower fatality rates in other high-income countries suggest that the United States needs to make significantly more progress in reducing motor vehicle crash deaths to catch up to its peer nations.
Meantime, police say the reality hits hard after five lives were lost in a crash that should not have happened in the first place — especially with an underage drinking suspect. Fort Worth police say a speeding driver https://ecosoberhouse.com/ rear-ended a sedan on I-35W early Monday morning. These dangerous actions jeopardize not only the lives of people immediately involved in accidents but also impact businesses, families, communities, and society.
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