DUI Rates Decline for U.S. Drivers

DUI Charges Decline for U.S. Drivers

Newest Psychological Well being Information

FRIDAY, Dec. 30, 2016 (HealthDay Information) -- As hundreds of thousands of vacation revelers hit the roads after the ball drops on New Yr's Eve, the journey house is likely to be a little bit safer as a result of fewer People say they're driving inebriated.

A brand new U.S. authorities report, primarily based on statistics from a survey of individuals aged 16 and up, stated that 11 % of these polled reported driving inebriated in 2014; that quantity was 15 % for 2002.

Regardless of this lower, nonetheless, drivers and their passengers stay in danger. An estimated 28 million People had been nonetheless driving inebriated in 2014, in keeping with the U.S. Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Providers Administration (SAMHSA) report.

"Though it's heartening to see a downward pattern in ranges of driving inebriated, it nonetheless kills hundreds of individuals annually and shatters the lives of buddies and family members left behind," stated Frances Harding, director of SAMHSA's Middle for Substance Abuse Prevention.

"We should try to avoid wasting lives by lowering this public well being risk by means of training, prevention, and all different doable measures," she stated in a information launch from the company.

Based on the report, the proportion of individuals aged 21 to 25 who acknowledged consuming and driving fell from 30 % in 2002 to 19 % in 2014.

The report additionally revealed that four % of individuals aged 16 and older reported driving beneath the affect of unlawful medication in 2014, and a pair of.5 % drove beneath the affect of each alcohol and unlawful medication.

As well as, the 2014 survey discovered that males had been more likely than females to drive inebriated, unlawful medication or each.

Based on the U.S. Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration, alcohol contributed to one-third of visitors deaths in 2014.

-- Randy Dotinga

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SOURCE: U.S. Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Providers Administration, information launch, Dec. 27, 2016