Over the past years there has been progress on drunk driving deaths, however, 2020 reversed this downward trend as impaired deaths zoomed up to 11,654; and, the percentage of alcohol-impaired fatalities shot back up to 30%. The increase in impaired-caused fatal crashes in 2020 represents a 14% increase over 2019.
Alcohol and speed: Last fall, an NFL Raiders player was clocked at 156 miles per hour in a residential area shortly before he hit another car killing the driver and her dog. Speed is a major problem in cities where roads are wide and go straight for long stretches and in residential areas. And, often the impaired driver will run a red light going at a high rate of speed. Alcohol greatly increases the risk of speeding.
Risky serving practices: Proper regulation of alcohol licenses must be ongoing to prevent practices that encourage short term over-consumption, versus a retailer’s long-term interest in their alcohol license. The licensed alcohol system places great responsibility on securing and maintaining a license. Regulators/legislators must be careful when licensing retailers, bars and events as sometimes servers are inexperienced at responsible service. Such a situation can lead to dangerous practices.
Large number of deaths, including children: It is particularly disturbing when an impaired driver causes several cars to crash and the death toll is high. Recently, an impaired driver traveled over 100 mph, ran a red light and hit several cars. Nine people, including five children, died from that crash. The driver, who died in the crash, was impaired by alcohol, cocaine and PCP, an all-too-common mix of impairing substances. Seven of those who died were from a single family.
Changing Consumption and Product Mixes: The rise of cannabis use has made “apples to apples” comparisons for drunk driving difficult; however, all states that have made cannabis more available are seeing dangerous driving related to cannabis consumption. Since there is no roadside test for cannabis use and impairment, law enforcement may be mixing statistics by recording accidents, arrests, fatalities as alcohol related when it’s a mixture of substances. Much greater research and technology is needed. Likewise, the increase in the last few years in consumption of more potent forms of alcohol such as liquor may be having profound impacts on liver cirrhosis and on drunk driving rates, as greater alcohol consumption takes place. More research on this is also needed.
