- NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
- After years of decline, the numbers of deaths and injuries linked to
drunk driving is rising again across the US, according to a new federal
government report. And law enforcement officials say they are initiating
a crackdown on those who drink and drive--beginning this weekend.
-
- "There will be no warnings," said North Miami
Beach Police Chief William Berger, speaking for the International Association
of Chiefs of Police. "Drive impaired and you will be spending your
money on bail and towing fees instead of holiday gifts."
-
- According to an annual nationwide survey of motor vehicle
accidents conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), highway fatalities linked to drunk driving fell to their lowest
level--16,572--in 1999. But since then, death rates have climbed again
to 17,380 in 2000 and 17,448 last year.
-
- Some states fared worse than others when it came to keeping
drunk or drugged drivers off the roads. California, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, New York, Vermont, Virginia and Utah kept fatalities to a low
0.25-0.50 per every 100 million vehicle miles of travel, while the District
of Columbia, Louisiana, Montana and South Carolina had rates more than
double that.
-
- Responding to the surge in highway deaths and injuries,
the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Mothers Against
Drunk Driving, NHTSA, AAA, and various state and local law agencies are
working to clamp down on those who drink or consume illicit drugs before
getting behind the wheel.
-
- "Impaired drivers represent one of our nation's
greatest threats," said NHTSA Administrator Dr. Jeffrey W. Runge in
a statement released Wednesday. "There are nearly one billion drinking
and driving trips annually which kill more than 45 people every day. This
crime will not be tolerated. Today marks the beginning of a year-long effort
focused on what we know prevents impaired driving--highly visible detection,
arrest and prosecution."
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