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Driving while impaired
Reports finds D.C. leads region in alcohol-related deaths
(Published November 29, 2004)

Traffic deaths, crashes and injuries related to alcohol or drug use have increased dramatically across the metropolitan area, with the District of Columbia leading the way in traffic fatalities related to impaired driving, according to a new report prepared by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG).

More than a quarter of the region’s 122 alcohol/drug-related traffic deaths in 2003 occurred in the District, where 34 such fatalities accounted for 50.7 percent of all traffic deaths in the city during the calendar year. Nationally, 39.9 percent of all U.S. vehicular fatalities in 2003 were reported as being related to alcohol or drug use, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The 12th annual COG report, entitled "How Safe Are Our Roads? A Data Report on the Impact of Drunk Driving on Highway Safety in the Washington Metropolitan Region," found traffic deaths attributed to driving under the influence increased more than 56 percent regionally from 1998 to 2003. During the same period, vehicle crashes attributed to impaired driving also increased regionally by more than 44 percent.

"Lest anyone think that this upswing in drunk driving incidents is solely based on the region’s population increase, the numbers would prove otherwise," said Kurt G. Erickson, president of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), a public-private alcohol awareness group for which the COG study was prepared.

"While population in the Washington metro area last year increased 1 percent, the number of local drunk driving deaths and crashes each increased by 13 percent," he said, referring to the regional totals.

In the District, where population decreased by about 1 percent between 2002 and 2003, traffic fatalities related to alcohol or drug use rose 278 percent during the same period. Crashes attributed to impaired driving increased 143 percent in the District between 2001 and 2003 [2002 crash totals were not included in the report], although only 3.1 percent of the 22,722 vehicle crashes reported in the District during 2003 were reported as being related to alcohol or drug use.

Despite a regional decrease of 11 percent in the number of arrests for driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI) between 2002 and 2003, enforcement increased in the District of Columbia during the same period. The report cited 1,711 D.C. arrests in 2003 for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a 14.7 percent increase over 2002.

The report also cited a 170.4 percent increase in traffic injuries related to impaired driving in the District between 2002 and 2003.Erickson called the report’s findings "proof positive that the local fight against drunk driving is far from won.

"The report’s release was timed to coincide with the beginning of the holiday traveling season, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, historically the deadliest period of the year for alcohol-related traffic crashes.

WRAP again this year will operate its SoberRide free cab ride service from Dec. 10 through Jan. 1 to reduce the number of drunk drivers on Washington-area roads. Between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. daily during the three-week period, adults 21 or older who have been drinking alcohol may call SoberRide at 1-800-200-TAXI to get a free ride home, up to a $50 fare.

Copyright 2004, The Common Denominator