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About Alcohol
 Survival
Strategies
In 2002, an estimated
17,419 people died in alcohol-related crashes – an
average of one every 30 minutes. These deaths
constitute 41% of the 42,815 total traffic fatalities.
Alcohol also plays a major role in child fatalities:
Two of every three children killed in alcohol-related
crashes were riding in a car with a drinking driver.
A recent CDC study found that 2,335 children died
in car crashes involving drinking – not
necessarily drunk – drivers between 1997
and 2002. In the overwhelming majority of those
cases – 68% – the child was riding
with a drinking driver.
Alcohol also strongly figures into teen driving
deaths: Nearly a third (29%) of drivers ages 15
to 20 who were killed in motor vehicle crashes
in 2002 had been drinking. The most likely time
to encounter a driver who has been drinking is
between midnight and 3 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
In fact, the National Fatality Analysis Reporting
System (FARS) reports that “the
risk of teenage drunk-driving fatalities is nearly
200 times as great at 1 a.m. Sunday as the risk
nine hours later at 10 a.m. Sunday morning.”
Nearly 80% of fatal crashes occurring from midnight
to 3 a.m. involved alcohol. The rate of alcohol
involvement in fatal crashes is more than three
times as high at night than during the day, and
in all crashes the alcohol involvement rate is
five times as high at night.
Alcohol-related
fatalities for 2002
(NHTSA,
persons killed during holiday periods)
Memorial Day weekend
|
236 |
| July 4 th weekend
|
328 |
| Labor Day weekend
|
298 |
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Survival strategies
- Don’t drink and drive – even
short distances. Drivers who
have been drinking have higher crash
rates even if they don’t exceed
the legal limit. You can be convicted
of alcohol-impaired driving even if you
are under the legal blood alcohol concentration
of .08 to .10% if there are other indications
that your driving is impaired.
- Keep your family off the road in the
wee hours. Avoid driving all night
to cover more ground while the children are
asleep: It puts you at the greatest risk of
encountering a drunk driver.
- Have a plan . When you take
your family to a barbecue or party where you
know you will be drinking, arrange for a designated
driver to drive your family home or car pool
with another family.
- Give teens greater driving privileges
gradually , as they gain experience – not
all at once, just because it’s summer.
- Eat when drinking. Eating
items high in protein such as meat, cheese and
nuts, will aid in slowing the body's absorption
of alcohol.
- Don’t
mix pharmaceuticals and alcohol. Ask your doctor or pharmacist
about alcohol and drug interactions and follow
any given directions.
- Don't be deceived. The average
glass of wine, mixed drink, straight liquor,
bottle of beer or can of beer contains almost
the same quantity of pure alcohol and will all
read the same on a breathalyzer.
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