DUI deaths drop in all but 13 states

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004 | 8:44 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON -- Drunken driving deaths fell in all but one of 13 states targeted by a campaign that includes money for ads and enforcement efforts to get drinkers off the road, the government said Wednesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to expand the $5 million program, but won't know if it has the money until Congress approves a long-delayed highway bill.

The program paid for ads around the July 4 and Labor Day holidays. States added to that by increasing the number of police officers and highway checkpoints.

Drunken driving deaths then dropped an average of 6.7 percent in Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia. Montana also participated, but saw its death rate rise by 1.6 percent.

Nationally, drunken driving deaths dropped 3 percent in 2003, from 17,524 to 17,013. That marked the first decline since 1999. Twenty-eight states had fewer alcohol-related deaths.

In Nevada the number of people who died in 2003 in alcohol-related traffic crashes rose 10.3 percent over 2002, from 165 deaths to 182 deaths as the state's population grew 4.1 percent.

Nevada ranked eighth in the nation in the growth of drunken driving deaths.

This distinction marks an unfortunate turn of events in the state, said Erin Breen, the director of Safe Community Partnership, part of the Transportation Research Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"We have a problem in our community of people pushing their luck," Breen said. "It is socially unacceptable to drink and drive, but people still have the misconception that they're not going to get caught."

Tougher laws and an increased police presence in the area could bring down the number of deaths, Breen said.

"We have some of the best DUI laws in the country, but, boy, are there a lot of loopholes," Breen said, noting a Nevada driver's third DUI conviction is a felony, but her fourth conviction is a misdemeanor.

NHTSA spent a total of $10.5 million on advertising in 2003 and $14 million in 2004. In both years, $5 million went to the 13 states, which were targeted because of their high death rates from drunken driving.

In Congress, lawmakers are expected to try to pass a compromise bill in September. The Senate version of the federal highway bill includes no money for drunken driving ads, but the House version contains $20 million, NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said.

Tyson said the imposition of lower blood-alcohol limits also has helped reduce deaths. Last year, 14 states adopted the tougher blood-alcohol standard of 0.08 to avoid losing federal highway funds.

In July Delaware became the 50th state to lower its legal blood-alcohol limit to 0.08.

Sun reporter Beth Slovic and the Associated Press contributed to this story.