Getting to Zero Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities

Alcohol-impaired driving continues to be the most dangerous and expensive threat on American roads today. Every day, 29 people in the United States lose their lives in alcohol-related crashes - that's one death every 49 minutes. This is a persistent issue affecting public health and safety. Unfortunately, progress in combating this problem has stagnated, with approximately 10,000 deaths each year between 2009 and 2015.

While the causes of alcohol-impaired driving are complex and varied, it is crucial to recognize that these fatalities are entirely preventable. There are numerous evidence-based strategies and promising approaches available to address this issue. By utilizing underused interventions and innovative technologies, we can strive for an ambitious goal: zero deaths caused by alcohol-impaired driving.

Every alcohol-impaired driving crash represents a failure in our system. Whether it's excessive alcohol service, a lack of transportation alternatives, insufficient clinical services, or ineffective policies and enforcement, something has gone wrong. To truly make a difference, we need a coordinated and multi-faceted approach, involving multiple sectors, to accelerate change.

To help identify effective strategies for reducing alcohol-impaired driving deaths in the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration partnered with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Their resulting report, "Getting to Zero Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities: A Comprehensive Approach to a Persistent Problem," highlights interventions and actions that can be taken to reduce these fatalities. The report not only suggests ways to improve existing interventions but also seeks to generate renewed attention and action from the public and policymakers. It's time to turn concern into decisive action and address this tragic and preventable problem head-on.