Our Objectives

• Reduce the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities to no more than 11,000 per year by the year 2005. Achieving this goal will reduce deaths caused by drinking and driving by approximately 5,000 each year, saving 14 lives every day.
• Reducing the death toll to 11,000 represents a national commitment. To reach our national goal we must begin at the community level.
• Raise public awareness of the real dangers of continued acceptance of drinking and driving in America.
• Change public perceptions about what it means to be "impaired."
• Increase the number of practical alternatives to driving while impaired.

Impaired Driving

• Impaired driving is no accident. It is a crime that kills.
• Nearly every 33 minutes, someone in America dies in an alcohol-related crash. In 1998, nearly 16,000 people died in alcohol-related crashes.
• Every two minutes, someone in America is injured in an alcohol-related crash. Last year, more than 305,000 people were injured.
• An average of three in every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives.
• Alcohol-involved traffic crashes annually result in more than $45 billion in economic costs.
• Impaired drivers are more likely to exceed the speed limit and less likely to wear seat belts, so the resulting crashes and injuries are often more severe and damaging.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)

• In [INSERT STATE], a driver (of legal drinking age) is legally impaired when he/she has a BAC of [INSERT STATE LIMIT HERE – .08 or .10]. However, impairment begins long before one reaches the legal limit.
• Someone driving with a BAC of between .05 and .09 is 11 times more likely to be killed in a crash than a driver with no alcohol in his/her system.
• Drivers with BACs exceeding .15 are 200 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash, and those with a BAC of at least .20 are 460 times more likely.
• Of those caught driving while intoxicated, 79 percent have BACs of .15 or more, and 52 percent have BACs exceeding .20.
• Studies confirm that impaired persons at the .08 BAC level show typical signs of impairment, and their driving abilities may decrease by as much as 60 percent.
• Two-thirds of all alcohol-related fatalities involve a driver with a BACs in excess of .15 — nearly double the statutory limit of .08 in many states.

Businesses

• Alcohol is a contributing factor in 39 percent of all work-related traffic crashes.
• The cost of traffic-related crashes to employers is an estimated $55 billion each year in direct costs, lost time and workers’ compensation.

Repeat Offenders

• Repeat offenders (of impaired driving laws) pose a substantial threat to all Americans because they routinely drive while legally intoxicated and are resistant to typical deterrents, such as prior crashes, arrests, convictions or license revocation.
• In 1997, hard core drunk drivers accounted for only one percent of all drivers on the road at night and on weekends, but represented nearly half of all fatal crashes during these times.

Young Drivers

• Thirty-two percent of fatalities among 15- to 20-year-olds are a result of motor vehicle crashes. Of these, at least 36 percent are alcohol-related.
• Drivers under 21 years of age (the legal drinking age) are subject to zero tolerance laws. These laws make it illegal for those under the age of 21 to drive after having consumed any amount of alcohol, and subject underage impaired drivers to strict penalties.
• Violation of zero tolerance laws may result in license revocation, significant fines and extended community service.
• There is public support for enforcing zero tolerance and drinking age laws. By enforcing these laws, communities can significantly decrease crime, fatalities and deaths among youths.
• It is estimated that minimum drinking-age laws have saved more than 18,000 lives since their inception in 1975. Zero tolerance laws are designed to achieve the same goal — saving lives.

Mobilizations

• December 17^th –19^th , law enforcement agencies around the nation will participate in a massive mobilization to rid our roadways of impaired drivers.
• Sobriety checkpoints and other efforts will be part of this winter holiday weekend mobilization.
• Enforcement of impaired driving laws reduces crashes, saves lives and money, as well as potentially reduces the incidence of other crimes.
• Coordinated efforts aimed at preventing the sale of alcohol to minors will reduce underage drinking and decrease crime, fatalities and deaths among youths.

Make the Right Choice — Don’t Drink & Drive

• It is important for all Americans to recognize the dangers of impaired driving and to change their perceptions about "impairment." Individuals are often already beyond the statutory intoxication limit before they believe they are too impaired to drive.
• Driving after drinking is a choice. Choose to do the right — and the safe — thing: find alternate transportation, use a designated driver, or don’t consume any amount of alcohol if you intend to or need to drive. Because if You Drink & Drive. You Lose.