Steering Clear of Drunk Driving

Alcohol-related auto accidents kill or injure someone in Wisconsin every 74 minutes. While that average doesn’t necessarily go up during the holidays, December’s National Drunk and Drugged Driving Month campaign serves up timely reminders to drivers and party hosts.

In homes and workplaces, two ingredients regularly appear in the holiday party recipe: alcoholic beverages are served, and many guests drive home.

“The cautionary advice for those who attend those events is to balance the mix of alcohol usage and food so that your alcohol use is such that you’re not getting into your car in an impaired condition,” said Stephen W. Hargarten, MD, MPH, Professor and Chairman of Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

“It’s important that the hosts of these events serve a balance of food and beverages, and that there is coffee and dessert served at the end. People should be leaving holiday parties having coffee or other non-alcoholic beverages as opposed to last-minute alcoholic drinks ‘for the road’,” said Dr. Hargarten. He also stresses that those in charge of workplace parties keep a watchful eye out even if vouchers are used to limit drinks, to be sure that guests don’t “stockpile” vouchers and drink too much.

Emergency rooms don’t necessarily see an increase in alcohol-related crash victims on days of major holidays, said Dr. Hargarten. “I don’t think it is so much seasonal as it is really predicated on weekends, where alcohol-related injuries occur on Fridays and Saturdays disproportionate to other days of the week,” he added.

“Still, if we took the month of December having a disproportionate higher number of alcohol-related events which includes New Year’s Eve, I suspect there is,” said Dr. Hargarten. “I don’t have any data to state that there’s a 20% increase or 15% increase, but my experience tells me there is. There are more parties and more people going out enjoying the season and the holidays. Along with that comes more consumption, and along with more consumption comes ‘at risk” alcohol use: drinking and driving.”

Impaired Driving: A Major Killer
Before the celebrations start, partygoers and hosts may wish to take note of the following sobering statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the state’s Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapter (MADD Wisconsin):

• An alcohol-related motor vehicle crash kills someone in the US every 30 minutes and non-fatally injures someone every two minutes. (NHTSA)
• In 2000, there were 9,096 alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes in Wisconsin. 301 people were killed. 6,836 people were injured. (MADD Wisconsin)
• In 2001, 17,448 people died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes. That’s 41% of the year’s total traffic deaths. (NHTSA)
• In 2000, on average, one person was killed or injured in an alcohol-related crash in Wisconsin every 74 minutes. (MADD Wisconsin)
• Approximately 1.5 million drivers were arrested in 2000 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. (NHTSA)
• Of the 36,530 OWI (operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated) citations adjudicated in Wisconsin during 2000, 92% of the drivers were found guilty. This total included 5,176 cases where the driver refused the alcohol test. 93% of the people who refused the alcohol test were found guilty of OWI. (MADD Wisconsin)

Many areas have community-wide designated driver programs that provide alternative methods of transportation for people who have consumed alcohol, and certain restaurants and bars offer free non-alcoholic drinks to designated drivers. Some designated driver programs are privately funded while others are run through public-private partnerships. The programs help spread the word about impaired driving prevention and illustrate the number of ways communities can encourage safe, sober driving.

Even if your area doesn’t have an official program, you can be the one to prevent injuries or fatalities among your family and friends by asking the question beforehand: who’s going to be the designated driver? Do it every time you’re going to be drinking alcohol. Take turns being the sober driver or being the one in charge of calling cabs. Take car keys away from the people in your group who shouldn’t be on the road. Make sure people know they are welcome to stay overnight. Do whatever it takes to keep people safe – they might not thank you for it at the time, but you’ll all be better off in the long run. Designating a driver can help prevent the physical and emotional trauma – and the legal consequences – associated with drinking and driving.

Personal Policy, Public Health Policy
Although the toll of deaths and injuries remains high, there has been a positive general trend downward. According to MADD Wisconsin, figures from the year 2000 show that since 1990 alcohol-related fatalities declined 10% (from 335), alcohol-related injuries declined 32% (from 10,035), and alcohol-related crashes declined 32% (from 13,309).

The slogan “friends don’t let friends drive drunk” may be taking hold at the individual level, and in many states at the policy level as well. Laws across the nation have been changed in recent years to minimize the impact of impaired driving on public health.

Using federal highway funding to states as an incentive, one such policy change has been promoted by the federal government with vigor. States that do not lower the blood alcohol content necessary for drunk driving convictions to 0.08% lose out on some federal highway funds. Wisconsin’s “legal limit” for alcohol content remains at the higher 0.10% level.

Speaking from his perspective as a health care practitioner specializing in emergency medicine, Dr. Hargarten agreed that public awareness of the implications of impaired driving is on the rise. “I think that MADD, as an example of an advocacy organization, has been relatively effective in calling attention to these issues,” said Dr. Hargarten. “They give report cards to states that generate discussion. They have also been credited as a factor in the recent relative decrease in alcohol-related car crashes among youth. And, I think the .08 initiatives that are going on around the country in lowering the drunk driving limit is also having an impact.

“Socially, there is a greater awareness relative to twenty, twenty-five, thirty years ago. But I think there’s a limit to how much more we can expect from that versus other approaches at the policy level. There are many challenging issues in the area of drunk driving that will demand consideration in the future.”

In the short term, for the holiday season, the advice to drivers is simple: enjoy the holidays and be of good cheer, but remember to take as much time as you need after the party to relax, have a cup of coffee and something to eat, and make sure you’re sober when you get back into your car. Make sure friends and relatives do the same, or promise them a safe ride home.

Dan Ullrich
HealthLink Contributing Writer

MCW Health News presents up-to-date information on patient care and medical research by the physicians of the Medical College of Wisconsin.