Approximately every 30 minutes, someone is killed in an alcohol-related crash in the United States and every 2 minutes someone is injured, according to the National Safety Council. Unfortunately, about 40% of all vehicle accident deaths involve alcohol-impaired drivers. With increasing efforts, we are constantly striving to reduce the amount of impaired driving on our roadways. Here are some of the top strategies implemented to reduce impaired driving:
- Screening & Briefing Intervention: SBI is effective at reducing risky drinking and alcohol-related problems. Employers can provide SBI Employee Assistance Programs and other health benefits. An analysis for over 360 research studies found that SBI is the most cost-effective strategy to reduce risky drinking and help people with drinking problems get effective treatment.
- 21 Minimum Drinking Age Law: When the drinking age was raised to 21, crashes decrease by almost 30%. NHTSA estimates nearly 25,000 teen traffic deaths have been prevented. The percentage of teen drivers killed in crashes with a BAC above the legal limit has dropped from 56% in 1982 to 23% in 2005.
- High Visibility Enforcement: This crackdown in the weeks leading up to Labor Day is designed to inform the public that law enforcement will bring consequences to drinking and driving. These crackdowns include saturation patrols and media blitzes to influence public perception about enforcement. High visibility enforcement has been known to change widespread driver behavior.
- Sobriety Checkpoints: Checkpoints add to the public’s perception of increased likelihood of being caught, reducing impaired driving as prevention. Studies have found that these checkpoints are effective in reducing alcohol-related crashes by 20%.
- Ignition Interlocks: This approach is effective in terms of preventing repeat offenders from driving under the influence. According to the NHTSA, out of the 1.5 million impaired driving arrests each year, one-third of them are repeat offenders. Ignition interlock technology can be effective at reducing impaired driving while it is installed in the vehicle.
Although there are many strategies that have helped to reduce impaired driving over the past years, drunk driving is still a major problem in our country. Keep our roadways safe and never drink and drive. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident due to the negligence of another driver, contact us immediately. We can help you receive the compensation you deserve. Learn more about the effective strategies used to reduce impaired driving.
Mr. Finkelstein is the Managing Partner of Finkelstein & Partners, LLP. He has become a noted consumer activist through his representation of injured individuals against corporate wrongdoers and irresponsible parties.
An accomplished litigator, Mr. Finkelstein has represented Plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases. He has successfully handled dozens of multi-million dollar cases.