National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month -- December
1997
Persons who drive while impaired by alcohol or other drugs are
a public health hazard to themselves and to others. During 1996,
alcohol-related motor-vehicle crashes resulted in 17,126 deaths in
the United States (1). From 1987 to 1996, the total number of
traffic fatalities decreased by approximately 10% (from 46,390 to
41,907, respectively), and the proportion of traffic fatalities
that were alcohol-related decreased by approximately 20% (51%
versus 41%, respectively) (1,2). Despite these reductions,
alcohol-related motor-vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of
death for teenagers and young adults.
December has been designated National Drunk and Drugged
Driving Prevention Month by the National Drunk and Drugged Driving
Prevention Month Coalition, a nationwide public- and private-sector
coalition for the prevention of crashes related to impaired
driving. Additional information about National Drunk and Drugged
Driving Prevention Month is available from the Impaired Driving
Division, Office of Traffic Injury Control Programs (NTS-11),
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 7th Street,
S.W., Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 366-9588; World-Wide
Web site http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
References
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic safety
facts, 1996: alcohol. Washington, DC: US Department of
Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
National Center for Statistics and Analysis, Research, and
Development, 1997.
CDC. Reduction in alcohol-related traffic fatalities -- United
States, 1990-1992. MMWR 1993;42:905-9.
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