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States' Progress Drops Drunk Driving Deaths To Lowest Level Since 1999 Nationwide Crackdown on Impaired Drivers Begins Aug. 27


American Government

States' Progress Drops Drunk Driving Deaths To Lowest Level Since 1999 Nationwide Crackdown on Impaired Drivers Begins Aug. 27

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
August 25, 2004


NHTSA 38-04
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Contact: Kathryn Henry
Telephone: (202) 366-9550

Alcohol-related fatalities declined significantly in 2003, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced today.  The decline was led by impaired driving reductions in 28 states, and is the first drop in the level since 1999.

"Tougher impaired driving laws, and the enforcement of those laws by tens of thousands of dedicated police officers across the country, are saving hundreds of lives nationwide, said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D.

Moreover, NHTSA said that alcohol-related fatalities dropped in 12 of 13 states that participated in an intense, multi-faceted NHTSA-funded campaign to reduce their severe impaired driving problems.

A total of 17,013 alcohol-related fatalities were recorded in 2003, down by 511, or almost 3 percent, from the total of 17,524 recorded in 2002. The greatest reduction in fatalities was among those in crashes where the highest blood-alcohol content (BAC) was .08 and above.

The decline comes as all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have enacted laws making a BAC of .08 the legal definition of impaired driving.

Twelve of the 28 states that had decreases in alcohol-related fatalities were Strategic Evaluation States (SES), accounting for 75 percent of the total reduction in alcohol-related fatalities.  The dozen states were Arizona, Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and West Virginia.


DRUNK DRIVING DEATHS

The SES states, supported by funding from NHTSA, have taken a leadership role in reducing impaired driving that includes sustained enforcement, periodic enforcement crackdowns, and paid media advertising funded by Congress. (See attached chart for complete 2003 state alcohol-related fatalities and SES states.)

The 2003 Alcohol-Related Fatalities announcement comes as more than 9,000 law enforcement agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico mobilize for the end of summer/Labor Day "You Drink & Drive. You Lose. crackdown  against drunk and drugged driving.

The crackdown consists of 16 days and three consecutive weekends of high visibility enforcement with more than $14 million in national and state advertising to stop impaired driving.

"While we made progress in 2003, losing 17,000 people a year in alcohol-related crashes is unacceptable, said Dr. Runge. "For those who choose to drive impaired, the bottom line is, police are looking for you, and those caught will face severe consequences.

The "You Drink & Drive. You Lose. campaign reminds everyone:

The "You Drink & Drive. You Lose.  national crackdown, launched in December 2002, is a comprehensive effort focused on highly visible law enforcement and paid advertising to deter impaired driving. More information is available at www.nhtsa.dot.gov., and www.stopimpaireddriving.org.


FATALITIES IN MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC CRASHES TOTAL FATALITIES AND ALCOHOL-RELATED FATALITIES, BY STATE {RANK is CHANGE IN ALCOHOL-RELATED FATALITIES} FATALITY ANALYSIS REPORTING SYSTEM (FARS) 2002 FINAL & 2003 ARF
  Rank/State 2002 2003 Change in Alcohol-Related Fatalities, 2002-2003 % Change in Alcohol-Related Fatalities, 2002-2003
Total Fatalities Alcohol-Related Fatalities Percent Alcohol-Related Fatalities Total Fatalities Alcohol-Related Fatalities Percent Alcohol-Related Fatalities
36 Alabama 1,038 410 39 1,001 415 41 5 1.2
27 Alaska 89 37 41 95 35 37 -2 -5.4
16 Arizona 1,132 489 43 1,120 470 42 -19 -3.9
44 Arkansas 640 241 38 627 254 41 13 5.4
28 California 4,088 1,628 40 4,215 1,626 39 -2 -0.1
3 Colorado 743 314 42 632 246 39 -68 -21.7
22 Connecticut 325 144 44 294 131 45 -13 -9
40 Delaware 124 50 40 142 60 42 10 20
41 Dist of Columbia 47 24 51 67 34 50 10 41.7
26 Florida 3,136 1,279 41 3,169 1,274 40 -5 -0.4
5 Georgia 1,524 533 35 1,603 488 30 -45 -8.4
48 Hawaii 119 47 39 135 72 53 25 53.2
45 Idaho 264 91 34 293 107 37 16 17.6
21 Illinois 1,420 653 46 1,453 639 44 -14 -2.1
29 Indiana 792 262 33 834 262 31 0 0
39 Iowa 405 137 34 441 145 33 8 5.8
14 Kansas 507 227 45 471 206 44 -21 -9.3
11 Kentucky 915 302 33 928 276 30 -26 -8.6
15 Louisiana 907 427 47 894 406 45 -21 -4.9
47 Maine 216 50 23 207 75 36 25 50
37 Maryland 661 276 42 649 281 43 5 1.8
17 Massachusetts 459 224 49 462 207 45 -17 -7.6
23 Michigan 1,277 494 39 1,283 481 37 -13 -2.6
42 Minnesota 657 256 39 657 267 41 11 4.3
18 Mississippi 885 335 38 871 320 37 -15 -4.5
20 Missouri 1,208 518 43 1,232 504 41 -14 -2.7
30 Montana 269 126 47 262 128 49 2 1.6
35 Nebraska 307 117 38 293 121 41 4 3.4
46 Nevada 381 165 43 368 182 50 17 10.3
31 New Hampshire 127 50 39 127 52 41 2 4
24 New Jersey 771 281 36 747 275 37 -6 -2.1
13 New Mexico 449 219 49 439 198 45 -21 -9.6
51 New York 1,530 482 31 1,491 529 35 47 9.8
8 North Carolina 1,576 592 38 1,531 554 36 -38 -6.4
33 North Dakota 97 49 50 105 52 50 3 6.1
2 Ohio 1,418 558 39 1,277 467 37 -91 -16.3
34 Oklahoma 739 251 34 668 255 38 4 1.6
50 Oregon 436 180 41 512 207 40 27 15
10 Pennsylvania 1,614 649 40 1,577 618 39 -31 -4.8
43 Rhode Island 84 46 55 104 57 55 11 23.9
4 South Carolina 1,053 549 52 968 488 50 -61 -11.1
38 South Dakota 180 92 51 203 98 48 6 6.5
7 Tennessee 1,177 485 41 1,193 447 37 -38 -7.8
1 Texas 3,823 1,810 47 3,675 1,709 47 -101 -5.6
12 Utah 328 71 22 309 46 15 -25 -35.2
32 Vermont 78 27 35 69 29 41 2 7.4
19 Virginia 914 379 41 943 364 39 -15 -4
6 Washington 658 299 45 600 259 43 -40 -13.4
9 West Virginia 439 179 41 394 148 37 -31 -17.3
49 Wisconsin 803 360 45 848 387 46 27 7.5
25 Wyoming 176 67 38 165 62 38 -5 -7.5
                   
  National 43,005 17,524 41 42,643 17,013 40 -511 -2.9
                   
  Puerto Rico 518 241 47 493 233 47 -8 -3.3
                   
Highlighted States were Strategic Evaluation States.




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