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04/25/2008 - Driving Under the Influence
Driving under the influence of alcohol and illicit drugs continues to be a leading cause of preventable death by injury in the United States. A new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that in some states as many as one in four persons aged 18 or older put their lives and the lives of others at risk by driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year. The report also shows that an estimated 4.7 percent of drivers aged 18 or older drove under the influence of illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin or prescription drugs used nonmedically.
“This report highlights the enormous public health risk posed by this problem – one threatening the lives of many Americans every day,” SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D., said in a prepared statement. “By highlighting the scope and nature of this problem in each state we can help communities best use their efforts and resources to address this preventable menace.”
Few individuals or families have been left untouched by the devastating effects of impaired driving. According to a 2006 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, alcohol-related crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and nonfatally injure someone every 2 minutes. Another recent study estimated that drugs other than alcohol are a factor in 18 percent of driver deaths.
SAMHSA’s most recent estimates on adults driving under the influence are based on the combined data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The results are annual averages based on combined data collected from 127,283 current drivers surveyed in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
According to SAMHSA, an estimated 15.1 percent of adults drove under the influence of alcohol in the past year. The state estimates range from Utah, which had the lowest level at 9.5 percent, and Wisconsin, which had the highest rate at 26.4 percent. Other states with high levels of past-year driving under the influence are North Dakota at 24.9 percent, Minnesota at 23.5 percent, Nebraska at 22.9 percent and South Dakota at 21.6 percent.
At the low end of the spectrum, along with Utah, are West Virginia at 10.1 percent, North Carolina at 10.4 percent, Kentucky at 10.5 percent and Arkansas at 10.8 percent.
In an Associated Press report, SAMHSA’s Dr. H. Westley Clark urged all states to take a close look at their education and enforcement efforts.
“Even in Utah, which reported the nation’s lowest rate, nearly one in 10 drivers reported driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year,” Clark said. “So, even in states that have low consumption rates or low DUI rates, they too need to reflect on the approach they’re taking. We don’t want people to lull themselves into a false sense of security.”
Nationwide, nearly one in 20 adults drove under the influence of an illegal substance in the past year. States with the highest rate of driving under the influence of illicit drugs are the District of Columbia at 7 percent, Rhode Island at 6.8 percent, Massachusetts at 6.4 percent, Montana at 6.3 percent and Wyoming at 6.2 percent.
States with the lowest rates of driving under the influence of illicit drugs are New Jersey at 3.2 percent, Alabama at 3.4 percent, North and South Dakota, both at 3.5 percent, and Kentucky at 3.6 percent.
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