Drunk Driving Deaths Continue to Decline in 2014
Today the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the latest available traffic fatality statistics which showed a slight decline in the overall number of people killed on US roadways last year and, for the third straight year, a decrease in drunk driving deaths. In 2014, 9,967 people were killed in drunk driving crashes accounting for 31 percent of the total traffic fatalities.
From 2013 to 2014, NHTSA reported a 0.1 percent decrease in traffic deaths and a one percent decrease in drunk driving deaths. Over the past decade drunk driving fatalities fell 27 percent from 13,582 in 2005 according to the latest statistics. Since Responsibility.org’s inception, alcohol impaired driving fatalities have declined 37 percent since 1991 and 53 percent since record keeping began in 1982. In 2014, the proportion of drunk driving fatalities in 26 states and DC were below the national threshold.
The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility has transformed countless lives through programs that have contributed to historic low levels in drunk driving and underage drinking. Leading the fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking – two of society’s top safety concerns – Responsibility.org offers proven strategies to stop impaired driving. We support mandatory ignition interlocks for all convicted DUI offenders, rehabilitation through screening, assessment and effective treatment, the utilization of DUI Courts for repeat DUI offenders and other effective countermeasures. We believe these tactics have played a significant role in achieving these noted reductions. We are encouraged by the progress reported by NHTSA today but there is still more work to be done to keep our roads free from drunk drivers.
Maureen Dalbec, Vice President of Research at Responsibility.org, and her husband are proud parents of two college age children. In her free time she enjoys running and swimming and occasionally competing in triathlons as well as volunteering in her community.