Holiday + Cheer = Deadly Combination

Written by FPCA's President, Chief Gary R. Grosser November 30, 1999

As we enter the holiday season, I would like share some sobering information with you.

The National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently published the 1998 Traffic Safety Facts. As you know, they define a fatal traffic crash as being alcohol-related if either a driver or a nonoccupant (e.g., pedestrian) had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.01 or greater, in a police reported accident.

• There were 15, 935 alcohol-related fatalities in 1998. This represents an alcohol related death every 33 minutes.

• More than 305,000 persons were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present. That means that every 2 minutes someone is injured as a result of an alcohol related accident.

• In 1998, nearly 30 percent of all traffic fatalities occurred in crashes in which at least one driver was legally intoxicated.

While the statistics have not been compiled for 1998, we do know that law enforcement arrested nearly 1.5 million individuals in 1997 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of 1 for every 122 licensed drivers in the United States. Needless to say, absent law enforcement's efforts, even more people would have been injured or killed.

Therefore, with the holiday season upon us, it is incumbent upon each of us to make alcohol related traffic enforcement a priority.

Happy Holidays.