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The number of people killed in alcohol-related traffic crashes increased in Virginia during 2006, according to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In stark contrast, drunk driving-related deaths fell in 28 states, and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the federal government is reporting.
Bucking the national trend of a lower number of alcohol-related fatalities last year, the number of drunk driving fatalities increased 7.5 percent in Virginia, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic said today. “It is clear that alcohol-related traffic crashes were a contributing factor in the increasing highway fatality rates in Virginia last year,” explained Martha Mitchell Meade, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Manager of Public and Government Affairs. “In fact, last year 39 percent of all fatal crashes in Virginia were alcohol-related.” “Overall, 300 people lost their lives in crashes involving a drunk driver on highways across the Commonwealth during 2006. This is an alarming trend,” said Meade. Yet across the country, fewer people perished in alcohol-related crashes during 2006, in comparison to 2005. To be more precise, “In 2006, 13,470 fatalities occurred in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator who had a .08 or above Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) compared with 13,582 in 2005,” reports NHTSA. Drunk driving is deadly, warns AAA Mid-Atlantic. Drunk driving kills two people in this country every hour, said Meade. According to recent scientific polls of AAA Mid-Atlantic members in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, 55 percent say that current drunk driving penalties in the state are not strong enough and 70 percent cite drunk drivers as one of their top three safety concerns related to driving. Last month, NHTSA issued a preliminary report of the total fatalities in motor vehicles traffic crashes. That report revealed that while the number of highway fatalities declined in twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia during 2006, the highway death toll increased in Virginia last year. Drunk driving is a major factor in the total number of highway deaths in Virginia, Meade explained. To combat the problem across the nation, NHTSA will convene a meeting today, August 22, with representatives from the judicial system, including judges, prosecutors and parole officers in Washington, D.C. They will discuss the role of alcohol ignition interlocks in reducing drunk driving fatalities. “Currently interlocks are used for 100,000 drunk driving offenders each year, or about an estimated 20 percent of those cases for which they could be prescribed,” reports NHTSA. Of the 1.4 million impaired driving arrests each year, one third involve repeat offenders. The effort is supported by AAA Mid-Atlantic. “This device effectively prevents offenders from re-offending. In fact, when offenders are assigned interlock devices, studies show a 50 to 90 percent reduction in subsequent offenses, compared with those who do not use interlock devices,” said Meade. An alcohol ignition interlock device is a mechanism installed in a vehicle’s dashboard. Before the vehicle can be started, the driver must breathe into the device. If the driver’s BAC is over the legal limit, the vehicle will not start. The upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend is one of the deadliest periods of the year for alcohol-related fatalities on our highways, reports AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Sadly, Labor Day has become the third most deadly holiday involving impaired driving crashes,” said Meade. “What is more, during the period between 1986 to 2002, September 2 was ranked as the tenth deadliest day on our nation’s roads.” On average, 137 people perished on our highways on the second day of September, in contrast to an average total of 117 people per day. Through Labor Day the Department of Transportation is launching a $11 million national TV and radio campaign titled “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.”
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