We all know that driving drunk can result in catastrophic Boston car crashes. Unfortunately, many people still continue to get behind the steering wheel of a vehicle after drinking too much and they risk their lives and the lives of others in the process.
Drunk drivers come from all age demographics and walks of life. New findings, however, are showing that nationally, there has been an increase in the number of women involved in deadly drunk driving accidents. A new report also reveals that it isn’t just young drivers who are prone to binge drinking.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of female drunk drivers is becoming a national safety issue. From 1998 – 2007, there has been a 28.8% increase in the number of women arrested for DUI. Currently, impaired women drivers are involved in about 2,000 US traffic deaths each year. In this state, however, between 2008 and 2007 there was a decline in the number of impaired women involved in deadly Massachusetts motor vehicle accidents.
While in 2007, 31 of the 163 women involved in fatal Massachusetts auto accidents had a BAC of .08% or more, there were 103 women involved in fatal Massachusetts traffic crashes last year and 21 of them were legally drunk. Regardless, one inebriated driver on the road is one dangerous driver too many.
Meantime, Duke University researchers and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health are reporting that there is a more significant amount of binge drinking taking place among adults in the 50 – 64 age range than initially thought. While drinking to the point of inebriation is commonly associated with young adults and teens, a new survey, recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, found that 9% of women and 22% of men in this older age group binge drink (at least five drinks), with 13% of women and 19% of men reporting that they have at least two drinks a day. Among adults over age 65, 3% of women and 14% of male seniors reported that they binge drink.
Heavy drinking of any kind can definitely pose a health hazard and an injury risk. It can be fatal for a drunken individual to then drive.
Through the end of the Labor Day weekend police, in cities throughout the US are taking part in the campaign Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. By focusing more of their resources on catching anyone who is driving drunk, the plan is to save lives.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Kicks Off Nationwide Enforcement Crackdown on Impaired Driving, NHTSA, August 19, 2009
Older people, too, knock back 5 drinks at a time, USA Today, August 17, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Alcohol-Impaired Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes, by Gender and State, 2007-2008, , NHTSA, (PDF)
National Survey on Drug Use & Health