AppId is over the quota
Drinking and driving dropped to historic lows last year, new government data show, though it?s not necessarily because adult Americans are boozing less?or less often.
The reasons behind the decline are ?not well understood,? U.S. health officials said in their report. But one possibility is that the rough economy is leading people to limit their ?discretionary driving? and opt to drink more often at home.
An estimated 112 million drunken driving instances occurred in 2010, a 30% drop from 2006?s peak of 161 million, according to data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That?s the lowest number of episodes reported since 1993, when the CDC first started tracking drunken driving.
Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities also declined 20%, from 13,491 in 2006 to 10,839 in 2009, the most recent year for which data were available. Deaths linked to drinking and driving represent about one-third of all motor vehicle deaths.
Four in five drunken drivers were men. The CDC estimates four million adults drink and drive each year, with 85% of all alcohol-impaired drives reported by someone who had been binge drinking. Rates remained disproportionately higher for men between the ages of 21 and 34, people living in the Midwest and those who do not always wear a seatbelt, according to the CDC.
At the same time, the CDC said self-reported alcohol consumption and binge drinking in the past 30 days did not significantly decline. The total number of adults drinking and driving?and the number of times they do it?are likely a ?significant underestimate? because the data are self-reported, said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden on a conference call with reporters.
A more widespread use of weekly or monthly sobriety checkpoints by law-enforcement officials could save between 1,500 and 3,000 lives a year, Frieden said. Broader adoption of ignition interlocks, an in-car breathalyzer device, for convicted drunk drivers could further curb the number of alcohol-impaired drivers. Currently, only about one in five eligible drunken-driving offenders are enrolled in ignition interlock programs.
The nationwide telephone survey polled more than 450,000 people. It did not include people under the age of 18.
In a statement, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an advocacy group, said the CDC report showed drunken driving continues to be an important safety issue for American families. The group said it would continue urging Congress for funds to research in-vehicle technology that could save an estimated 8,000 lives a year, said MADD Chief Executive Kimberly Earle.