Kick Off Luncheon and Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving |
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Norman Y. Mineta, United States Secretary of Transportation
November 27, 2001
Thank you Robert (Stempel) for that kind introduction.
Good afternoon, and welcome, to everyone here. Thank you for the opportunity to address your annual forum.
Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the NCADD (Phonetic Pronunciation: N-CAD) Board past and present and offer my appreciation and gratitude for the work you are doing to make our roads and highways a safer place.
Today, we are here to celebrate a legacy of safety. In 1982, President Reagan created the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving, and, as you well know, the National Commission Against Drunk Driving stemmed from the Presidential Commission.
The Presidential Commission was originally staffed by NHTSA personnel and housed within the Department of Transportation.
President Reagan charged the Commission with writing the first national report on drunk driving issues, working to make impaired driving socially unacceptable, and creating a systematic approach to preventing impaired driving.
Almost twenty years later, we can reflect on the many successes of this initial effort.
Twenty-nine states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have implemented .08 Blood Alcohol Content laws.
Forty states and the District of Columbia have implemented administrative license revocation, over thirty states have open container laws, and almost every state can conduct sobriety checkpoints.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have primary seat belt laws.
And all 50 states and the District of Columbia limit the drinking age to those 21 years old or older.
On the 20th Anniversary of the creation of the President’s Commission on Drunk Driving, we truly have a legacy of safety worth celebrating.
While we are here to celebrate, we are also here to reaffirm our commitment to, and highlight our efforts on behalf of, traffic safety and the elimination of impaired driving.
The importance of the Commission’s original goal.... to make impaired driving socially unacceptable.... has not faded with time. In fact, we must remain vigilant in striving to accomplish this goal. Impaired driving is still a major threat to the public health and safety of all Americans.
Traffic fatalities in alcohol related crashes rose 4 percent in 2000 to 16,653. This is significantly lower than the 25,165 alcohol related fatalities in 1982, but it is still far short of the Department’s 2005 target goal of no more than 11,000 fatalities.
As long as impaired driving kills once every 32 minutes…. as long as 3 out of 10 Americans will be involved in alcohol related traffic crashes during their lifetime…. as long as thousands of Americans die each year from alcohol related traffic crashes…. as long as impaired driving is a threat to hard working Americans and their families…. we have important work to do.
We must build upon our previous gains in striving to make impaired driving not only socially unacceptable but also legally untenable. Alcohol related traffic fatalities are no accident.
We don’t accept the taking of life, the harm to persons, and the damage to property, that occur when people murder, assault and rob. And we shouldn’t accept the taking of life, the harm to persons, or the damage to property, that result from people driving impaired.
The National Commission Against Drunk Driving (NCADD - Phonetic Pronunciation: N-CAD) and its members, in cooperation with, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the U.S. DOT, are in an excellent position to lead the national dialogue and actions that will result in the next major decline in impaired driving crashes.
We must continue to reach beyond raising awareness and sustain efforts to change social norms and behavior. This can only be accomplished through a focused, systematic approach that includes education of personal risks and consequences, legislative innovations and initiatives, and diligent law enforcement.
Furthermore, this will only happen by working in partnership with key stakeholders. They include organizations such as:
They also include representatives of the automobile, alcohol and insurance industries, the medical and public health communities, law enforcement and the courts, and federal, state and local government officials.
Coming together here today, we can look back on the past 20 years and know that we have made much progress in limiting impaired driving and its consequences. However, a major challenge still remains.
We must enhance and focus our efforts to combat impaired driving in order to reach the Departmental goal of no more than 11,000 alcohol related crash fatalities by 2005. Working with NCADD (N-CAD) to make impaired driving socially unacceptable is one of the best ways to reach that goal.
We must build upon the legacy of safety we have created over the past twenty years in order to create a dynasty of safety for the future.
Working together, we can change the way we approach impaired driving. Working together, we can create a dynasty of safety.
Thank you very, very much.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)