The Dangers of Drinking and Driving

Males are more likely than females to be involved in alcohol-related fatal crashes. In 2002, 78 percent of people killed in alcohol-related crashes (including drivers, passengers, and pedestrians) were male. Forty-six percent of male traffic deaths are alcohol related, compared with 29 percent of female traffic deaths. Alcohol test results from drivers stopped in the 1996 National Roadside Survey of weekend nighttime drivers were compared with the alcohol involvement of drivers in weekend nighttime single-vehicle fatal crashes, as determined by NHTSA for 1995 and 1996.

These laws, which have been enacted in every State, make it illegal for drivers under 21 to drive after any drinking. This type of crash among adults (i.e., those age 21 and older) declined 3 to 4 percent both in zero tolerance States and comparison States. Although a smaller percentage of 16- to 20-year-old drivers drive after drinking compared with older drivers, when they do so, 16- to 20-year-olds consume more alcohol before driving. Based on NHTSA’s estimates of the BACs of drivers’ most recent drinking–driving trips (derived from survey results), 16- to 20-year-old drivers had an average BAC of 0.10 percent, three times the average BAC of adults (including 16- to 20-year-old drivers) who drove after drinking. Compounding the danger of driving with higher BACs, drivers ages 16 to 20 on average have 1.4 passengers with them when they drive after drinking, compared with an average of 0.79 passengers for all other age groups.

urrent Environment: Alcohol, Driving, and Drinking and Driving

Many other traffic safety improvements have the potential to save lives more cost-effectively, according to the Department of Transportation, though they may not be able to save as many lives as increased enforcement of drunk driving laws. Furthermore, how these policies are implemented (e.g., target population, penalties, and mandatory versus discretionary) and enforced are critical factors in determining their effectiveness for specific areas and at the national level. Such policies can be alcohol specific, driving specific, or alcohol-impaired driving specific, and they can affect any point of intervention illustrated in the committee’s conceptual framework (see Figure 1-5) (e.g., alcohol consumption, drinking to impairment, and driving while impaired).

Inpatient rehabilitation programs provide intensive therapy and support for people struggling with alcohol addiction or substance abuse. Scientists have linked frequent alcohol use to depression, anxiety, mood disorders, and self-harm (e.g., suicide attempts and cutting). Women have a higher risk of developing alcohol-induced liver injuries than men.

Safety Belt Use

A substantial part of this decline is due to federal and state taxes on alcohol not having kept up with inflation. Thus, the government may be able to reduce drunk driving by raising its taxes on alcohol. Drunk driving is an excellent example of both the need and the opportunity for prevention to be comprehensive. Clearly, laws against drunk driving, enforced by the police and adjudicated by the courts, must play a leading role in the effort to keep people from driving while drunk. Many other strategies also have the potential to significantly reduce drunk driving. The suspension period typically ranges from 30 days to one year, depending on the state.

The FARS collection of data on distracted driving has several gaps and weaknesses; see Chapter 6 for a detailed discussion of these limitations. Using several epidemiological studies of drunk driving, Reed has calculated a more accurate estimate of the number of deaths that could be prevented if no one ever drove after drinking. These studies compared the blood alcohol levels of drivers involved in accidents with the blood alcohol levels of drivers not involved in accidents (this latter control group was randomly selected at times and places similar to those at which the accidents occurred). The data show that 24 percent of the fatalities would not have occurred if the drivers had not been drinking. Similar calculations give average estimates of 12 percent for the number of disabling injuries that would be prevented and 6 percent for the amount of preventable property damage.

Alcohol and the Digestive System

Alcohol can negatively affect the muscular and skeletal systems by thinning the bones over time. This increases the risk of falls, fractures, muscle weakness, cramping, and atrophy. Alcohol makes your stomach produce extra acid, leading to inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis). Diarrhea, vomiting, heartburn, ulcers, and stomach pain after drinking are common side effects.

• Getting behind the wheel after having even just a few drinks can prove to be dangerous to yourself, pedestrians, and other drivers.
• Thus, further investigation elucidating who were more affected by the recent alcohol use trends and driving behaviors among women involved in DUI of alcohol is warranted.
• Each state has its own definition of what constitutes unlawful impairment, but most require that the driver be noticeably affected by the substance or be unable to safely drive.
• The 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that of people 18 years or older, 86.4 percent have drunk alcohol at some time in their lives, 70.1 percent drank in the past year, and 56.0 percent drank in the past month (SAMHSA, 2016).
• On the other hand, drunk driving accident survivors and their families will feel anger, especially if their loved ones were critically or fatally injured.

At a BAC of .08 grams of alcohol per deciliter (g/dL) of blood, crash risk increases exponentially. Because of this risk, it’s illegal in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher, except in Utah where the BAC limit is .05. Alcohol’s sedating effects impair a driver’s decision-making skills and coordination. An impaired driver lacks the ability to quickly and decisively avoid an accident or even perform routine driving maneuvers.

In 2012 the BRFSS results showed that the Midwest U.S. Census region had the highest annual alcohol-impaired driving rate at 573 per 1,000 people (Jewett et al., 2015). A recent analysis of FARS data showed that the majority of deaths from alcohol-impaired driving crashes from 2000 to 2013 occurred in the South (45.6 percent), followed by the West (21.9 percent) and the Midwest (21.0 percent) (Hadland et al., 2017). In another study that examined BRFSS data from 2003 and 2004, drinking drivers who drank most of their alcohol in licensed establishments consumed an average of 8.1 alcoholic beverages on one occasion, and about one-fourth of this group consumed 10 or more drinks (Naimi et al., 2009). Cumulatively, these findings suggest that the risk of driving subsequent to binge drinking is substantial on a per-binge-drinking episode basis across the population. 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.

Other states, however, may completely preempt local control over alcohol availability.22 Another alcohol-specific policy that varies from state to state is responsible beverage service and server training. As of 2016, 12 states plus the District of Columbia had mandatory service training laws, 20 had voluntary laws, 6 had a combination of mandatory and voluntary policies, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ and 12 had neither (APIS, 2016). The relationship between alcohol-related harm and social determinants may be bidirectional. For example, alcohol-related harms can contribute to loss of earnings, family disruption, interpersonal violence, mental health issues, and stigmatization, thus shaping social determinants (such as socioeconomic status) and exacerbating inequities.

Young drivers’ perceptions about how much they can drink and still drive safely also increase their risk. Among 16- to 20-year-olds, the average BAC at which these drivers considered themselves safe to drive was 0.12 percent for males and 0.07 percent for females (based on respondents’ estimates of how much they could drink in a 2-hour period and still drive safely). In comparison, a 0.05-percent BAC was considered safe by males and females ages 21 to 45, and a 0.03-percent BAC was believed safe by those age 45 and older. 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.

In 2014 self-reported driving under the influence of alcohol was highest among drivers ages 21 to 29 (Lipari et al., 2016). FARS estimates show that drivers ages 21 to 34 made up 55 percent of drivers with BAC levels of 0.08% or higher who were involved in fatal crashes in 2015 (NCSA, 2016a). Increasingly, health care policy makers and the public are understanding the link between social factors and health.