Impaired driving impacts all of us, the following are some things each of us can do to make our roads safer.
• Be a responsible host. Serve food and have non-alcoholic drinks available. Don't let your guests drive after drinking alcohol and never serve alcohol to someone under the age of 21.
• Speak out expressing your concern over drunk driving and underage drinking in your community.
• Never ride in a car with someone who has been drinking - call a cab or ask a friend to drive you home.
• Report drunk drivers immediately to area law enforcement from a car phone or pay phone with the license plate number, description of the vehicle, and the direction in which it was traveling.
• Keep a safe distance from anyone driving erratically and do not try to intervene yourself.
The following statistics will help you understand the enormous impact impaired driving has on society.
• In 1995, 17,274 people died in alcohol-related crashes.
• Approximately one million people are injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes annually.
• Alcohol involvement is the single greatest factor in motor vehicle deaths and injuries. Only 4% of all crashes involve the use of alcohol, but 41% of fatal crashes do.
• Anti-impaired driving efforts work. From 1986 to 1995, alcohol-related fatalities dropped 28%. This drop is generally attributed to stronger laws, tougher enforcement, and good consumer education.
Source: US Department of Transportation's Fatal Accident Reporting System and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's National Center for Statistical Analysis.
Beer is less intoxicating than other types of alcoholic beverage. FACT
One 12-ounce can of beer, one 4-ounce glass of wine or one mixed drink with 1 1/4 ounces of 80-proof liquor are equally intoxicating.
Switching between beer, wine, and liquor will make you drunker than sticking to one type of alc...