December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month

Impaired driving will affect one in three Americans during their lifetime. In 2002, 17,419 people in the United States died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, accounting for 41% of all traffic-related deaths (NHTSA 2003). 

December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month (3D Month) by Presidential Proclamation.
 

Quick Facts About Impaired Driving

• An alcohol-related motor vehicle crash kills someone every 30 minutes and nonfatally injures someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2003). 
   
• Each year, alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost about $51 billion (Blincoe et al. 2002).
   
• Most drinking and driving episodes go undetected. In 2001, more than 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics (FBI 2001). That’s slightly more than 1 percent of the 120 million self-reported episodes of alcohol–impaired driving among U.S. adults each year (Dellinger et al. 1999).
   
• Rates have begun to rise after a decade of decline in alcohol-related fatal crashes. Since 1999, they have increased slightly by 4 percent to 10 percent for all age groups except for ages 16 to 17 years (Elder et al. 2002).
   
• To further decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes, communities need to implement and enforce strategies that are known to be effective, such as sobriety checkpoints, 0.08% BAC laws, minimum legal drinking age laws, and "zero tolerance" laws for young drivers (Shults et al. 2001, Shults et al. 2002). 

For more facts, see CDC's impaired driving fact sheet.

References

Blincoe L, Seay A, Zaloshnja E, Miller T, Romano E, Luchter S, et al. The economic impact of motor vehicle crashes, 2000. Washington (DC): Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); 2002. Available from: URL: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/economic/econimpact2000/index.htm.  

Dellinger AM, Bolen J, Sacks JJ. A comparison of driver– and passenger–based estimates of alcohol–impaired driving. Am J Prev Med 1999;16(4):283–8.

Elder RW, Shults RA. Trends in alcohol involvement in fatal motor vehicle crashes among young drivers – 1982-2001. MMWR 2002;51:1089–91.

Dept. of Justice (US). Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Crime in the United States 2001. Uniform Crime Reports. Washington (DC): FBI; 2001.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Dept. of Transportation (US). Traffic safety facts 2002: Alcohol. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2003 [cited 2003 Oct 6]. Available from: URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2002/2002alcfacts.pdf. 

Shults RA, Elder RW, Sleet DA, Nichols JL, Alao MA, Carande-Kulis VG, et al. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving [published erratum appears in Am J Prev Med 2002;23:72]. Am J Prev Med 2001;21(4S):66-88.

Shults RA, Sleet DA, Elder RW, Ryan GW, Sehgal M. Association between state-level drinking and driving countermeasures and self-reported alcohol-impaired driving. Inj Prev 2002;8:106–10.

Back to Top

 
CDC Research and Activities to Reduce Alcohol-Impaired Driving

Information about CDC's efforts to reduce alcohol-impaired driving are available from its impaired driving fact sheet.

Actions to decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes involving young drivers have been effective
Over the past 20 years, alcohol-related fatal crash rates have decreased by 60 percent for drivers ages 16 to 17 years and 55 percent for drivers ages 18 to 20 years. However, this progress has stalled in the past few years. To further decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes among young drivers, communities need to implement and enforce strategies that are known to be effective, such as minimum legal drinking age laws and "zero tolerance" laws for drivers under 21 years of age. 

Elder RW, Shults RA. Trends in alcohol involvement in fatal motor vehicle crashes among young drivers – 1982-2001. MMWR 2002;51:1089–91.

Sobriety checkpoints reduce alcohol-related crashes
Fewer alcohol-related crashes occur when sobriety checkpoints are implemented, according to a CDC report published in the December 2002 issue of Traffic Injury Prevention. Sobriety checkpoints are traffic stops where law enforcement officers systematically select drivers to assess their level of alcohol impairment. The goal of these interventions is to deter alcohol-impaired driving by increasing drivers’ perceived risk of arrest. The conclusion that they are effective in reducing alcohol-related crashes is based on a systematic review of research about sobriety checkpoints. The review was conducted by a team of experts led by CDC scientists, under the oversight of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services—a 15-member, non-federal group of leaders in various health-related fields. (Visit www.thecommunityguide.org for more information.) The review combined the results of 23 scientifically-sound studies from around the world. Results indicated that sobriety checkpoints consistently reduced alcohol-related crashes, typically by about 20 percent. The results were similar regardless of how the checkpoints were conducted, for short-term “blitzes,” or when checkpoints were used continuously for several years. This suggests that the effectiveness of checkpoints does not diminish over time.

Elder RW, Shults RA, Sleet DA, Nichols JL, Zaza S, Thompson RS. Effectiveness of sobriety checkpoints for reducing alcohol-involved crashes. Traffic Inj Prev 2002;3:266-74.

Stronger state DUI prevention activities may reduce alcohol-impaired driving
Strong state activities designed to prevent driving under the influence (DUI), including legislation, enforcement, and education, may reduce the incidence of drinking and driving, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For the study, which was published in the June 2002 issue of Injury Prevention, CDC analyzed data from the 1997 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) national telephone survey, and the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Rating the States 2000 survey, that graded states on their DUI countermeasures from 1996-1999. Results showed that residents of states with a MADD grade of "D" were 60 percent more likely to report alcohol-impaired driving than were residents from states with a MADD grade of "A." MADD based the grades on 11 categories of prevention measures, including DUI legislation; political leadership; statistics and records availability; resources devoted to enforcing DUI laws; administrative penalties and criminal sanctions; regulatory control and alcohol availability; youth DUI legislation; prevention and education; and victim compensation and support.

The study also found that 4 percent of the residents who consume alcohol reported they had driven after having too much to drink at least once during the previous month. Men were nearly three times as likely as women to report alcohol-impaired driving, and single people were about 50 percent more likely to report alcohol-impaired driving than married people or those living with a partner.

Shults RA, Sleet DA, Elder RW, Ryan GW, Sehgal M. Association between state-level drinking and driving countermeasures and self-reported alcohol-impaired driving. Inj Prev 2002;8:106–10.

Research leads to bills that protect children from drinking drivers
CDC’s findings about the number of children killed in cars driven by drinking drivers has led legislators in several states to introduce bills to help protect them from drinking drivers. Such legislation creates special penalties under state child abuse laws for persons who transport children while driving drunk. Results from the study showed that nearly two-thirds of children killed in drinking driver-related crashes were riding with the impaired driver. Fewer than 20 percent of the children killed were properly restrained at the time of the crash, and restraint use decreased as the driver’s blood alcohol concentration increased.

Quinlan KP, Brewer RD, Sleet DA, Dellinger AM. Child passenger deaths and injuries involving drinking drivers. JAMA 2000:283(17):2249–52. 

Research identifies effective interventions against alcohol-impaired driving
CDC and the Task Force on Community Preventive Services—an independent, nonfederal panel of community health experts—published systematic reviews of the literature for five community-based interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. The reviews revealed strong evidence of effectiveness for 0.08% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) laws, minimum legal drinking age laws, and sobriety checkpoints. They also found sufficient evidence of effectiveness for lower BAC laws specific to young or inexperienced drivers (zero tolerance laws) and intervention training programs for alcohol servers. A detailed description of the sobriety checkpoints systematic review was published in the December 2002 issue of Traffic Injury Prevention. The systematic review of the effectiveness of 0.08% BAC laws for drivers was helpful in establishing a 0.08% standard nationwide. The review revealed that state laws that lowered the illegal BAC for drivers from 0.10% to 0.08% reduced alcohol-related fatalities by a median of 7 percent, translating to 500 lives saved annually. With this evidence, the Task Force on Community Preventive Services strongly recommended that all states pass 0.08% BAC laws. In October 2000, the President signed the Fiscal Year 2001 transportation appropriations bill, requiring states to pass the 0.08% BAC law by October 2003 or risk losing federal highway construction funds. As of October 1, 2003, 45 states and the District of Columbia had enacted 0.08% BAC legislation.

In June 2001, Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, awarded the Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service to the systematic review team for their contribution to the field. The team is currently conducting systematic reviews of mass media campaigns, school-based education programs, and designated driver programs, which are scheduled for publication in 2004. 

The Guide to Community Preventive Services

Shults RA, Elder RW, Sleet DA, Nichols JL, Alao MA, Carande-Kulis VG, et al. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving [published erratum appears in American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2002;23:72]. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2001;21(4S):66–88.

 
3D Month Planning Materials

Planning materials for Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month (3D Month)—including planning guides, media outreach tools, fact sheets, and more—are available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website.

• CDC. Notice to Readers: National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month--December 2003. MMWR 2003;52(48):1185–6
   
• CDC.  National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month—December 2002.  MMWR 2002;51(48): 1089.
   
• CDC.  Trends in alcohol involvement in fatal motor vehicle crashes among young drivers – 1982-2001. MMWR 2002;51(48): 1089-1091.
   

• CDC. National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month—December 2001. MMWR 2001;50(47):1063–4.

• CDC. Alcohol involvement in fatal motor-vehicle crashes—United States, 1999-2000. MMWR 2001;50 (47):1064–5.
   

• CDC. Motor-vehicle occupant injury: Strategies for increasing use of child safety seats, increasing use of safety belts, and reducing alcohol-impaired driving. A report on recommendations of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. MMWR Recommendations and Reports 2001:50(No. RR-7);1-13.

• Dellinger AM, Bolen JB, Sacks JJ. A comparison of driver- and passenger-based estimates of alcohol-impaired driving.  American Journal of Preventive Medicine 1999;16(4):283-88.   
   
• Elder RW, Shults RA, Sleet DA.  Do .08% blood alcohol concentration laws save lives?  The Washington Post 2001, Nov. 26.
   

• Elder RW,  Shults RA, Sleet DA, Nichols JL, Zaza S, Thompson RS. Effectiveness of sobriety checkpoints for reducing alcohol-involved crashes. Traffic Injury Prevention 2002;3:266-74.

• Everett SA, Shults RA, Barrios LC, Sacks JJ, Lowry R, Oeltmann J. Trends and subgroup differences in transportation-related risk and safety behaviors among high school students, 1991-1997. Journal of Adolescent Health 2001;28:228-34.
    
• Quinlan KP, Brewer RD, Sleet DA, Dellinger AM.  Child passenger deaths and injuries involving drinking drivers.  JAMA 2000;(283)17:2249-52.
    
• Shults RA, Elder RW, Sleet DA, Nichols JL, Alao MA, Carande-Kulis VG, Zaza S, Sosin DM, Thompson RS, Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving [published erratum appears in American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2002;23:72]. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2001;21(4S):66-88.
   
• Shults RA, Elder RW, Sleet DA, Nichols JL, Alao MA, Carande-Kulis VG, et al. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving [published erratum appears in American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2002;23:72]. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2001;21(4S):66–88.

• The Guide to Community Preventive Services

 
Disclaimer
Some of these sites are not CDC sites. CDC is not responsible for the content of web pages found at links to such sites. Links to nonfederal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not indicate an endorsement of these organizations by CDC or the federal government.