Stay alive: Don’t drink and drive
Don’t and drive.
That message is broadcast every year ahead of New Year’s celebrations, but the holiday season is still one of the busiest times for law enforcement.
“Honestly, this time of year we see more DUIS,” said Sgt. Todd Crowson of the Bryant Police Department. “We want everyone to get out and have a good time, but they need to be smart about it.”
Crowson said Saline County law enforcement agencies will be out in force making sure the streets are free of drunken drivers.
Not just local law enforcement, but national organizations have been leading the fight against impaired driving for years.
For more than three decades the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility has been leading the fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking.
During this time drunk driving fatalities have declined 26% and among those under 21 the number of fatalities has decreased 61%.
Underage drinking among the nation’s youth has continued to decline with fewer reporting drinking each year – past month consumption decreasing 46% since
1991 – while the number of conversations among parents and kids has increased.
Among all 50 states and DC, the percent of drunk driving fatalities ranged from 19% (Kentucky) to 43% (Montana) in 2018, according to the website responsibility.org.
In 2018, 10,511 people died in a drunk driving crash – on average 1 every 50 minutes.
For the first time, less than 1,000 youth under 21 died in a drunk driving crash.
For every 100,000 people in the US, slightly more than 3 people died in a drunk driving crash.
The rate of drunk driving fatalities has decreased 9% over the past decade.
29% of fatal vehicle crashes involved an alcohol-impaired driver in 2018.
In 2019, the rate of alcoholimpaired driving fatalities per 100,000 population was 3.1, representing a 66% decrease since 1982, when record-keeping began, and a 51% decrease since the inception of The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility in 1991.
Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities accounted for 30% of the total vehicle traffic fatalities in 2020. Between 1991 and 2019, the rate of drunk driving fatalities per 100,000 population has decreased 51% nationally,
and 70% among those under 21. These statistics and others are positive indicators of the gains being made to fight drunk driving.
Drunken Driving Fatality Statistics
Since 1982, drunk driving fatalities on our nation’s roadways have decreased 45%, while total traffic fatalities have declined 12%.
Among persons under 21, drunk driving fatalities have decreased 83%.
In spite of this progress,
Arkansas law enforcement officers still see more DWIS during the holidays.
Benton and Bryant police, the Arkansas State Police and Saline County Sheriff’s Office will all be out patrolling the roads this weekend looking for intoxicated drivers.
“We are looking at your speed, looking for the weaving... for any of the signs of a DUI, really,” he said.
Arkansas law enforcement officers are funded through a STEP grant program when they are working on DUI patrol, Crowson said.
“The best thing to do is just don’t do it,” Crowson said. “Don’t drink and drive, and you will save yourself a whole lot of trouble.”
The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that 408 people may die on U.S. roads this New Year’s Day holiday period.
Holidays traditionally are a time of travel for families across the United States. Many choose car travel, which has the highest fatality rate of any major form of motorized transportation based on fatalities per passenger mile.
New Year’s Day is observed on January 1. The New Year’s Day holiday period varies from 1.25 to 4.25 days in length, depending on which day of the week the holiday falls.
In 2023, New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, so the holiday period is 3.25 days and extends from 6 p.m. Friday, December 30, 2022 to 11:59 p.m. Monday, January 2, 2023.
Nationwide, alcohol-impaired fatalities (involving blood-alcohol content of 0.08 g/dl or higher) in 2020 represented 30% of the total traffic fatalities.
During the 2020 (latest available data) New Year’s Day holiday period, 49% of fatalities involved an alcohol-impaired driver. This fact shows the historic trend of the percent of fatalities involving an alcohol-impaired driver.
“Be smart,” Crowson said. “Have a good time and ring in the New Year, but use some common sense. Have a designated driver, or use an Uber.”