Why People Drive Drunk

Driving while either intoxicated or drunk is dangerous.

THE FACTS

·      The average BAC among fatally injured drinking drivers is.16

·      The relative risk of death for drivers in single-vehicle crashes with a  high BAC is 385 times that of a zero-BAC driver

·      For male drivers the risk is 707 times that of a sober driver, according to estimates by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

·      High BAC drivers tend to be male, aged 25-35, and have a history of DWI convictions and polydrug abuse.

                                                                

POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT RESOLUTIONS  

·         Automatic license revocation appears to be the single most effective measure to reduce drunk driving.

·         Automatic license revocation along with a mandatory jail sentence appears to be even more effective than just automatic license revocation.

·         Impounding or confiscating license plates.

·         Mandating the installation of interlock devices that prevent intoxicated persons from starting a vehicle.

·         Vehicle impoundment or immobilization.

·         Expanding alcohol server training programs.

Implementing social norms programs that correct the misperception that most people sometimes drive under the influence of alcohol.

·         Passing and enforcing bans on open containers would probably reduce drunk driving by deterring drinking while driving. Surprisingly, some states have vehicular no open container laws.

·         Imposing graded or multi-tiered penalties based on BAC at the time of arrest. This policy is virtually universal with regard to speeding.

·         Restricting nighttime driving by young people. This appears to be effective in those states with such restrictions.

·         Involving drivers in identifying and reporting possibly drunken drivers to law enforcement authorities by dialing 911 on their cell phones.