Today I would like to talk to you about the problems of drinking and driving, and why it is a concern for all of us.

I'd like to start off by talking about the penalties of drinking and driving. Did you know that drunk driving is the nation's most frequently committed violent crime? A chronic drunk driver is a person who has driven over 1,000 times before being caught. They do not respond to social pressures, law enforcement, and the messages that have been combined to reform the drinking and driving behavior of our society. Given the highly disproportionate role that these people play in drunk driving incidents, injuries, and fatalities, it would be wise to put our focus on them. The chronic drunk drivers comprise only a small percentage of all the drivers, yet they cause the most accidents. Studies have found that 21 to 34 year olds make up approximately half of all the drunk drivers that are in alcohol-related fatal acciden

o In 1990, more than half of the fatal car accidents in this country were related to alcohol, killing 22,083 people. This is the equivalent of a fully loaded 747 crashing. Three times a week. Every week.

"Under the Influence." People Weekly 17 July 2000 v54 i3 p63+

o The cost for each injured survivor of an alcohol-related crash averaged $67,000, including $6,000 in health care costs and $13,000 in lost productivity.

o In 1995, in Montana, 42.3% of the traffic fatalities were alcohol related.

o A drunk driving accident cost innocent victims $26,000. Comparable crime cost per victim: assault--$19,000; robbery--$13,000; motor vehicle theft--$4,000.

Most drivers who have had something to drink have low blood alcohol content and very few are involved in fatal crashes. On the other hand, while only a few drivers have blood alcohol contents higher than .15, many of those drivers have fatal accidents. The average blood alcohol content among fatally injured drunk drivers is .17, and almost half of fatally injured drunk drivers have a blood alcohol content of .20 or higher. With a blood alcohol content of .15 you increase your fatal accident rate 200 times, at .20 you increase the rate 460 times. Drunk drivers have slowed reaction and impaired judgment, they cause about 72,500 injuries and deaths every year according to federal estimates. Here are some DUI statistics-

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