Impaired Driving
The Issue
Nationwide, nearly half a million people are injured in alcohol-related crashes each year. More than 15,000 of them die. That’s one death every 33 minutes.
A DUI conviction carries stiff penalties for the offender, but the problem is even more costly to the rest of society. Alcohol-related crashes involving injuries and fatalities cost society more than $140 billion in lost productivity, medical costs, property damage, and other direct expenditures annually.
The Issue in the Kansas City Region
In 2002, the city of Kansas City, MO, had the highest number of alcohol-reported crashes in the state of Missouri with 765 collisions. The City of St. Louis logged only 281 alcohol-related wrecks. County level data suggests that alcohol-related crashes were a more substantial problem in the region’s more populated counties in 2002; however, drinking and driving is a regional concern for all residents.
County |
Number of Crashes |
| Jackson, Mo. | 1,100 |
| Johnson, Kan. | 499 |
| Wyandotte, Kan. | 339 |
| Clay, Mo. | 244 |
| Platte, Mo. | 112 |
| Cass, Mo. | 80 |
| Leavenworth, Kan. | 58 |
| Ray, Mo. | 46 |
The number of alcohol-related crashes is believed to largely be underreported. There are a number of reasons for this underreporting. Symptoms of drinking may be masked from the investigating officer, or the officer may not have an opportunity to observe or interview the person for an extended time period in cases where immediate medical attention is necessary. This apparent problem of underreporting should be taken into consideration when evaluating this data.
What You Can Do
Although gender, body weight, the amount of food in your stomach and the number of drinks consumed affect your body’s ability to process alcohol, it takes little alcohol to impair one’s driving ability.
Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is a measurement of the amount of alcohol in the body. As an individual’s BAC rises, the ability to drive safely deteriorates. As few as two or three drinks can make someone legally drunk and lethal to both themselves and others when driving.
Choose a designated driver before the drinking starts. Don’t wait until next time to make sure a friend, loved one or even a complete stranger gets home safely – there may not be a next time.
The best defense against a drunken driver is to wear a safety belt. Nationally, nearly two-thirds of all drivers and passengers who died on our highways were not wearing safety belts. Always buckle up.
