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Drunken Driving Fatalities Down 7% in the United States

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the drunken-driving fatality rate in the USA declined about 7% from 2007 to 2008, continuing a decades-long drop. Drunken-driving deaths have been trending downward since 1982; two years after Mothers Against Drunk Driving began focusing attention on the issue. There were 11,773 such fatalities in 2008, a 44% drop from the 21,113 in 1982, according to NHTSA and U.S. Department of Transportation data. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood attributes the drop to aggressive enforcement efforts by various states.  States that target drunken driving saw their DUI fatality rates drop from 2007 to 2008. LaHood, White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske and John Saunders of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) recently launched the annual national winter holiday crackdown on impaired driving. Thousands of law enforcement agencies across the USA will be targeting drunken driving in the campaign, which runs through New Year's Day. Each state has its own version.
 
To review the statistics on alcohol-related traffic deaths by state go to: www.nhtsa.gov.