Alcohol-Related Traffic Deaths Hit Record Low

While 57.3% of all traffic deaths were alcohol-related in 1982, only 38.0% were in 1999, according to the National Highway Trafffic Safety Administration.

That's a drop of over one-third. Stated another way, alcohol-related traffic fatalities were over 50% higher 17 years earlier.

This is the lowest rate since the government began keeping records in 1975. But we need to do even better.


Reference:

  • National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 1998 Traffic Fatalities Decline; Alcohol-Related Deaths Reach Record Low. Press release, May 27, 1999. (Available at www.nhtsa.dot.gov) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Report: Early Assessment of 1999 Crashes, Injuries, and Fatalities. National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 2000.

Filed Under: Drinking and Driving