Halloween is a time of year for more than one kind of spirits.
There’s more drinking and thus more drunken driving in what’s become a costumed, hearty party season, according to state traffic experts. “It’s one of our busiest times of the year,” said State Police Inspector Gene Adamczyk of the Lansing office.
So police in Michigan will step up drunk driving patrols this week and Sunday, Halloween, Adamczyk said. That includes county and local police departments. Federal money will pay for extra overtime for road patrols, said Ann Readett, spokesperson for the Michigan Office of Highway and Safety Planning.
Also, a new drunk driving law takes effect Sunday with stiffer penalties for first-time convictions of driving with blood alcohol contents of 0.17 grams or higher. Driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 is considered drunk driving. Those convicted of driving with high levels of blood alcohol would have their license suspended automatically. They also could face 180 days in jail, bigger fines, six points on their driving record and mandatory alcohol treatment.
A restricted license could be granted after 45 days if a driver agrees to install a breath alcohol ignition device on the vehicle they drive. The driver must blow into the device, as with a Breathalylzer, to start the vehicle. The car won’t start if the blood alcohol level registers .025 or higher. Currently, ignition interlock devices are used only for repeat drunk drivers. The driver must blow into the device periodically while driving as well. If it measures alcohol, the car’s horn will sound and its lights will flash until it’s turned off. Then, the driver must contact a probation officer to restart the vehicle – and deal with the consequences.
The convicted driver must pay the installation and daily cost of the ignition interlock device. The installation cost could be waived for low-income drivers. “It will make Michigan roads safer and it will help people get the help they need,” said Rep. Marc Corriveau, D-Northville. He is co-sponsor of the legislation along with Rep. Bob Constan, D-Dearborn Heights.
Michigan has 45,000 drunk driving arrests a year. Of those, nearly 15,000 involve a driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.17 or higher, according to the Office of Highway Safety Planning.
Article Source
Monday, October 25, 2010
Bars and Restaurants get hit hard because of Tougher Dunk Driving Laws
Business down ‘dramatically’as drivers fear going over limit
By KIM PEMBERTON, Vancouver Sun
Bar patrons are drinking less, or not at all.
Drinking establishments are reporting business is down “dramatically” — anywhere from 10 to 40 per cent since British Columbia’s tougher anti-drinking laws went into effect last week.
The general feeling is “people are being very cautious,” fearing if they go over the .05 per cent blood alcohol level they risk having their car impounded, said Ian Tostenson, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Association.
“People are scared. They don’t know what it takes for them to reach .05, so while they might go out they won’t drink or certainly not as much. It’s impacting restaurants in terms of sales,” said Tostenson, adding that how much revenue is down as a result of the new law won’t be known for another month.
To try to deal with a drop in business, some pubs and restaurants are either offering a shuttle service or considering it.
Woody’s on Brunette Pub in Coquitlam is considering a pilot project to provide a shuttle service after seeing business drop 10 per cent in the first week, said owner Gordon Cartwright.
“It’s definitely impacted our business. We’ve noticed a slowdown in our day business and after work business [as a result of the new anti-drinking laws],” he said.
“The public is just trying to figure out how much they can drink without worrying about it — knowing their limits.”
At Fox’s Reach Pub and Grill, owner Todd Arbuthnot said he plans to buy two vans for his pubs in Ladner and Maple Ridge to drive people home after they have been drinking.
“It’s especially needed in Maple Ridge because there isn’t much housing there so we don’t get walk-in traffic. People are having to drive 15 to 20 minutes home. It’s frustrating because no one knows where they stand. It seems everyone knows a friend who had their licence suspended after two beers,” he said.
Arbuthnot said he noticed a “dramatic” drop in alcohol consumption of about 30 per cent a day since the new law took effect.
“People aren’t ordering [alcohol] any more. They won’t take the chance because in Maple Ridge everyone needs to be able to drive to work or to get their kids to school.”
Attorney-General Mike de Jong said the threshold of .05 has been in place for more than three decades — it’s the penalties that have changed.
New penalties start with a three-day driving ban and $200 fine for anyone caught with a blood alcohol concentration of more than .05 — up from the previous 24-hour suspension.
Those who blow more than .08 face a 90-day driving ban, a $500 fine and mandatory installation of an ignition interlock device — regardless of criminal charges that may be laid.
Repeat offenders can expect heavier fines and longer suspensions.
“Two weeks ago, if you drove a car after drinking and had an alcohol level over .05, you could be issued a temporary suspension. What’s new is the seriousness of the penalty, no doubt about it,” said de Jong.
The attorney-general added that “it’s clear that people are talking about this. The potential loss of your vehicle and loss of your licence has registered with the public — and that is what was intended. Too many people have been getting behind the wheel of a car after consuming too much alcohol.”
In Port Moody at the Golden Spike Pub, managerial partner Cheryl Semenuik said she especially noticed the decline on week nights when sports teams stopped coming in for a drink after their games and the after work crowd stopped coming as well.
“It’s been rough across the board in the industry. We’ve seen our liquor consumption down 30 to 40 per cent,” she said.
“It’s a big cut. People are scared. Everyone has a story. We heard of one neighbourhood pub where 22 people were arrested on a weekend right after closing. A guy in our sports pool said his secretary had one glass of wine with a salad at lunch and she got pulled over after doing a U-turn. They made her blow and she lost her car [for a three-day impoundment].”
She said at her pub she’s noticed the parking lot is now two-thirds full first thing in the morning because patrons are opting to go home by taxi and pick up their vehicles later.
And while the Golden Spike Pub always offers a shuttle service on New Year’s Eve, they too are considering purchasing a full-time shuttle van to try to encourage patrons to start drinking more again.
At the St. James’s Well in Port Moody, general manager Mike Read said while he hasn’t noticed a dramatic drop in business, because most of their regular patrons live within walking distance, he has a 20 per cent drop in “people just popping in for one or two after work.”
“I might have had one beer after work myself but even I won’t do that any more because I don’t know where I sit in terms of 0.5 per cent,” he said.
Read said while he appreciates the new law makes people think more about how much alcohol they’ve consumed before driving, he called it “a little draconian.”
“It’s almost saying zero tolerance,” he said. “There’s a perception that there’s a certain percentage of people who will be over 0.5 per cent with a single drink.”
Shark Club, in downtown Vancouver, hasn’t seen a decrease in business because their patrons are generally coming in after a game downtown.
Assistant general manager Christine Cairns said they’ve already made arrangements to get home safely after driving or taking the SkyTrain, which is nearby their restaurant.
“There’s a lot of buzz in the industry and it’s something to be aware of that one drink could put you over the limit if you’re not eating. “We’re a full service restaurant so the majority of people are having a good meal,” she said.
Her concern is the province has to continue SkyTrain service after 1 a.m. considering most places serving liquor in downtown Vancouver stay open until 2 a.m. and on Granville until 3 a.m.
Source
Small Business Owners Protect your business and make more money today. Learn how with Alco-Buddy: www.alcobuddy.com
By KIM PEMBERTON, Vancouver Sun
Bar patrons are drinking less, or not at all.
Drinking establishments are reporting business is down “dramatically” — anywhere from 10 to 40 per cent since British Columbia’s tougher anti-drinking laws went into effect last week.
The general feeling is “people are being very cautious,” fearing if they go over the .05 per cent blood alcohol level they risk having their car impounded, said Ian Tostenson, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Association.
“People are scared. They don’t know what it takes for them to reach .05, so while they might go out they won’t drink or certainly not as much. It’s impacting restaurants in terms of sales,” said Tostenson, adding that how much revenue is down as a result of the new law won’t be known for another month.
To try to deal with a drop in business, some pubs and restaurants are either offering a shuttle service or considering it.
Woody’s on Brunette Pub in Coquitlam is considering a pilot project to provide a shuttle service after seeing business drop 10 per cent in the first week, said owner Gordon Cartwright.
“It’s definitely impacted our business. We’ve noticed a slowdown in our day business and after work business [as a result of the new anti-drinking laws],” he said.
“The public is just trying to figure out how much they can drink without worrying about it — knowing their limits.”
At Fox’s Reach Pub and Grill, owner Todd Arbuthnot said he plans to buy two vans for his pubs in Ladner and Maple Ridge to drive people home after they have been drinking.
“It’s especially needed in Maple Ridge because there isn’t much housing there so we don’t get walk-in traffic. People are having to drive 15 to 20 minutes home. It’s frustrating because no one knows where they stand. It seems everyone knows a friend who had their licence suspended after two beers,” he said.
Arbuthnot said he noticed a “dramatic” drop in alcohol consumption of about 30 per cent a day since the new law took effect.
“People aren’t ordering [alcohol] any more. They won’t take the chance because in Maple Ridge everyone needs to be able to drive to work or to get their kids to school.”
Attorney-General Mike de Jong said the threshold of .05 has been in place for more than three decades — it’s the penalties that have changed.
New penalties start with a three-day driving ban and $200 fine for anyone caught with a blood alcohol concentration of more than .05 — up from the previous 24-hour suspension.
Those who blow more than .08 face a 90-day driving ban, a $500 fine and mandatory installation of an ignition interlock device — regardless of criminal charges that may be laid.
Repeat offenders can expect heavier fines and longer suspensions.
“Two weeks ago, if you drove a car after drinking and had an alcohol level over .05, you could be issued a temporary suspension. What’s new is the seriousness of the penalty, no doubt about it,” said de Jong.
The attorney-general added that “it’s clear that people are talking about this. The potential loss of your vehicle and loss of your licence has registered with the public — and that is what was intended. Too many people have been getting behind the wheel of a car after consuming too much alcohol.”
In Port Moody at the Golden Spike Pub, managerial partner Cheryl Semenuik said she especially noticed the decline on week nights when sports teams stopped coming in for a drink after their games and the after work crowd stopped coming as well.
“It’s been rough across the board in the industry. We’ve seen our liquor consumption down 30 to 40 per cent,” she said.
“It’s a big cut. People are scared. Everyone has a story. We heard of one neighbourhood pub where 22 people were arrested on a weekend right after closing. A guy in our sports pool said his secretary had one glass of wine with a salad at lunch and she got pulled over after doing a U-turn. They made her blow and she lost her car [for a three-day impoundment].”
She said at her pub she’s noticed the parking lot is now two-thirds full first thing in the morning because patrons are opting to go home by taxi and pick up their vehicles later.
And while the Golden Spike Pub always offers a shuttle service on New Year’s Eve, they too are considering purchasing a full-time shuttle van to try to encourage patrons to start drinking more again.
At the St. James’s Well in Port Moody, general manager Mike Read said while he hasn’t noticed a dramatic drop in business, because most of their regular patrons live within walking distance, he has a 20 per cent drop in “people just popping in for one or two after work.”
“I might have had one beer after work myself but even I won’t do that any more because I don’t know where I sit in terms of 0.5 per cent,” he said.
Read said while he appreciates the new law makes people think more about how much alcohol they’ve consumed before driving, he called it “a little draconian.”
“It’s almost saying zero tolerance,” he said. “There’s a perception that there’s a certain percentage of people who will be over 0.5 per cent with a single drink.”
Shark Club, in downtown Vancouver, hasn’t seen a decrease in business because their patrons are generally coming in after a game downtown.
Assistant general manager Christine Cairns said they’ve already made arrangements to get home safely after driving or taking the SkyTrain, which is nearby their restaurant.
“There’s a lot of buzz in the industry and it’s something to be aware of that one drink could put you over the limit if you’re not eating. “We’re a full service restaurant so the majority of people are having a good meal,” she said.
Her concern is the province has to continue SkyTrain service after 1 a.m. considering most places serving liquor in downtown Vancouver stay open until 2 a.m. and on Granville until 3 a.m.
Source
Small Business Owners Protect your business and make more money today. Learn how with Alco-Buddy: www.alcobuddy.com
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Man Penalized for Driving while Drunk
A 29-year-old Honolulu man began serving an 18-month prison term this morning for the negligent homicide death of Outrigger Hotels and Resorts manager Ray Kanemori in January.
When he gets out of prison, Elwyn Keomaka, II will be on probation for five years and must also perform 500 hours of community service, at least some of that time with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
"We will be taking full advantage of this opportunity to fashion a powerful message for others," said Jennifer Dotson, executive director of MADD Hawaii.
Dotson said this is the first time a state judge has sentenced a defendant to perform community service specifically with MADD.
Circuit Judge Edwin Nacino sentenced Keomaka to the probation, prison time and community service this morning after the prosecutor recommended 10 years in prison and Keomaka's lawyer asked for probation. Nacino also revoked Keomaka's drivers license for five years.
Keomaka was driving drunk the wrong way on a one-way street in Waikiki Jan. 18 when his car struck and killed Kanemori. The long-time Outrigger manager had just gotten off work and had entered the street from between two parked cars.
The state said Keomaka was traveling 29 mph in a 25 mph zone and his blood-alcohol content was 0.12 two hours later.
State law prohibits anyone with a BAC of 0.08 or higher from operating a vehicle.
Keomaka pleaded no contest to first-degree negligent homicide in August.
His lawyer Howard Luke said Keomaka has not driven or consumed alcohol since Kanemori's death. And he said it was Keomaka who suggested the community service with MADD.
Source | Alco-Buddy Solution
When he gets out of prison, Elwyn Keomaka, II will be on probation for five years and must also perform 500 hours of community service, at least some of that time with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
"We will be taking full advantage of this opportunity to fashion a powerful message for others," said Jennifer Dotson, executive director of MADD Hawaii.
Dotson said this is the first time a state judge has sentenced a defendant to perform community service specifically with MADD.
Circuit Judge Edwin Nacino sentenced Keomaka to the probation, prison time and community service this morning after the prosecutor recommended 10 years in prison and Keomaka's lawyer asked for probation. Nacino also revoked Keomaka's drivers license for five years.
Keomaka was driving drunk the wrong way on a one-way street in Waikiki Jan. 18 when his car struck and killed Kanemori. The long-time Outrigger manager had just gotten off work and had entered the street from between two parked cars.
The state said Keomaka was traveling 29 mph in a 25 mph zone and his blood-alcohol content was 0.12 two hours later.
State law prohibits anyone with a BAC of 0.08 or higher from operating a vehicle.
Keomaka pleaded no contest to first-degree negligent homicide in August.
His lawyer Howard Luke said Keomaka has not driven or consumed alcohol since Kanemori's death. And he said it was Keomaka who suggested the community service with MADD.
Source | Alco-Buddy Solution
Parents are the key to safe driving for teens
ROSEVILLE - We're in the middle of National Teen Driver Safety Week, and this year's theme is "Reducing Driving Distractions."
It's a cause that is near and dear to News10's Great Hang Up campaign. That's why we had a booth at Impact Teen Drivers' Teen/Parent Driving Safety Fair.
At Roseville's All American Speedway, California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow told the teenage crowd, "If you die premature in this world before your time, the chances are it'll be because of an automobile collision... and remember that. That's the most important thing you'll learn here today."
The big man on top at the CHP told us it's especially important to send the message to young drivers today.
"This is the generation that grew up on cell phones and grew up on texting," Farrow said. "It's what they do, and what we're trying to illustrate to them is you can't mix that with driving because your attention needs to be fully committed to driving. There are so many things going on simultaneously."
Many teens told us texting and talking on the cell phone is a way of life.
15-year-old Mikayla George said, "24-7, I probably text thousands of times a day."
The habit is one of a few distractions that kills thousands of young people every year behind the wheel. Farrow said he and his officers hate to be the bearer of horrible news by telling a parent his or her child is another victim.
"It's the most difficult thing we do, and I know it impacts all of our officers deeply when they have to do that," said the commissioner.
Farrow told us events like these are a great supplemental tool, learning defensive driving, making a promise like News10's Great Hang Up pledge, but the message must start and continue in the home.
Teen driver Alayjah Brown agreed, "We get lectures all the time. We'll be watching a movie, and she'll be just whispering in our ear, 'You don't want that to happen to you, make sure you're safe.'"
Alayjah's mother, Akeeya Johnson said those "lectures" would maybe one day save her children's lives.
"I just hope I'm doing what I can as a parent to protect her and keep her safe," said Johnson.
Farrow said Johnson is doing exactly what she should.
"We know what the cause is. We know what the antidote is, and the antidote is the parents. It's all about learning and all about teaching."
Source
It's a cause that is near and dear to News10's Great Hang Up campaign. That's why we had a booth at Impact Teen Drivers' Teen/Parent Driving Safety Fair.
At Roseville's All American Speedway, California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow told the teenage crowd, "If you die premature in this world before your time, the chances are it'll be because of an automobile collision... and remember that. That's the most important thing you'll learn here today."
The big man on top at the CHP told us it's especially important to send the message to young drivers today.
"This is the generation that grew up on cell phones and grew up on texting," Farrow said. "It's what they do, and what we're trying to illustrate to them is you can't mix that with driving because your attention needs to be fully committed to driving. There are so many things going on simultaneously."
Many teens told us texting and talking on the cell phone is a way of life.
15-year-old Mikayla George said, "24-7, I probably text thousands of times a day."
The habit is one of a few distractions that kills thousands of young people every year behind the wheel. Farrow said he and his officers hate to be the bearer of horrible news by telling a parent his or her child is another victim.
"It's the most difficult thing we do, and I know it impacts all of our officers deeply when they have to do that," said the commissioner.
Farrow told us events like these are a great supplemental tool, learning defensive driving, making a promise like News10's Great Hang Up pledge, but the message must start and continue in the home.
Teen driver Alayjah Brown agreed, "We get lectures all the time. We'll be watching a movie, and she'll be just whispering in our ear, 'You don't want that to happen to you, make sure you're safe.'"
Alayjah's mother, Akeeya Johnson said those "lectures" would maybe one day save her children's lives.
"I just hope I'm doing what I can as a parent to protect her and keep her safe," said Johnson.
Farrow said Johnson is doing exactly what she should.
"We know what the cause is. We know what the antidote is, and the antidote is the parents. It's all about learning and all about teaching."
Source
Organization Promotes Safe Driving for Teens
By Don Riley/Network Indiana
10/19/2010
It's National Teen Driver Safety week, an opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving among young drivers.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens. Driver distractions are a contributing factor, including cell phone usage, passengers in the vehicle, eating while driving and loud music.
Indiana Criminal Justice Institute executive director Neil Moore says they've partnered with several organizations to promote safe teen driving habits statewide. He says the institute tracks volumes of crash data on Hoosier teens.
ICJI is paying close attention to how the graduated drivers licensing law is affecting teen driver safety.
The law, aimed at drivers under the age of 18, went into effect in July 2009 with additional restrictions added a year later.
In a couple of years, Moore hopes the data begins to show that limiting driver distractions and increasing the age to obtain a drivers permit reduces vehicle crashes among Indiana's teen drivers.
Source
10/19/2010
It's National Teen Driver Safety week, an opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving among young drivers.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens. Driver distractions are a contributing factor, including cell phone usage, passengers in the vehicle, eating while driving and loud music.
Indiana Criminal Justice Institute executive director Neil Moore says they've partnered with several organizations to promote safe teen driving habits statewide. He says the institute tracks volumes of crash data on Hoosier teens.
ICJI is paying close attention to how the graduated drivers licensing law is affecting teen driver safety.
The law, aimed at drivers under the age of 18, went into effect in July 2009 with additional restrictions added a year later.
In a couple of years, Moore hopes the data begins to show that limiting driver distractions and increasing the age to obtain a drivers permit reduces vehicle crashes among Indiana's teen drivers.
Source
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Starting your very own small business with Alco-Buddy
We all can agree that the economy is in a real tough state and jobs are very scarce. What better way to get rid of the dependence of an employer and start your very own business. Alco-Buddy gives everyone the opportunity to start thier own business by putting the Alco-Buddy Breathalyzer Vending Machine product in establishments in the community of choice. Not only will you the business owner make money off the Alco-Buddy product but also you will be promoting awareness and setting the tone in the establishment showing that the owners care about thier customers.
Alco-buddy has many package deals that will help new and existing business owners to get started. Alco-buddy machines can be purchased as single units or in large quantities. By purchasing an Alco-Buddy Breathalyzer Machine(s) you are also supporting safe and responsible drinking. The Alco-Buddy business is committed to helping you become successful and how to start up your very own growing business. Alco-Buddy can help you choose the best target businesses in your area and show you the does and what nots of the business.
For more information on Alco-Buddy and how to start your business today, visit our website. We look forward to working with you. www.alcobuddy.com
Alco-buddy has many package deals that will help new and existing business owners to get started. Alco-buddy machines can be purchased as single units or in large quantities. By purchasing an Alco-Buddy Breathalyzer Machine(s) you are also supporting safe and responsible drinking. The Alco-Buddy business is committed to helping you become successful and how to start up your very own growing business. Alco-Buddy can help you choose the best target businesses in your area and show you the does and what nots of the business.
For more information on Alco-Buddy and how to start your business today, visit our website. We look forward to working with you. www.alcobuddy.com
Abolish Drunk Driving Laws
If lawmakers are serious about saving lives, they should focus on impairment, not alcohol.
Radley Balko | October 11, 2010
Last week Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo advocated creating a new criminal offense: "driving while ability impaired." The problem with the current Texas law prohibiting "driving while intoxicated" (DWI), Acevedo explained, is that it doesn't allow him to arrest a driver whose blood-alcohol content (BAC) is below 0.08 percent without additional evidence of impairment.
"People sometimes focus on how many drinks they can have before they'll go to jail," Acevedo told the Austin-American Statesman. "It varies….A person may be intoxicated at 0.05, and you don't want them out driving." Acevedo wants to be able to arrest people with BAC levels as low as 0.05 percent, and he may have support for that idea in the state legislature. John Whitmire (D-Houston), chairman of the state Senate's Criminal Justice Committee, told the Statesman Acevedo's plan "might be one way to go," adding, "Some people shouldn't be driving after one drink—probably below the 0.08 limit—and this could address that."
Bill Lewis, head of the Texas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, agreed. "I don't see how it would hurt," he told the paper. "The level of 0.08 is where we know most people are good and drunk...and there are people who are driving at less than the limit who probably should not be. It might keep some people from driving [drunk] again."
Acevedo, Whitmore, and Lewis are right, although probably not in the way they intended. People do react to alcohol differently. For many people one drink may well be too many, while experienced drinkers can function relatively normally with a BAC at or above the legal threshold for presuming intoxication. A person's impairment may also depend on variables such as the medications he is taking and the amount of sleep he got the night before. Acevedo et al.'s objections to the legal definition of intoxication highlight the absurdity of drawing an arbitrary, breathalyzer-based line between sobriety and criminal intoxication.
The right solution, however, is not to push the artificial line back farther. Instead we should get rid of it entirely by repealing drunk driving laws.
Consider the 2000 federal law that pressured states to lower their BAC standards to 0.08 from 0.10. At the time, the average BAC in alcohol-related fatal accidents was 0.17, and two-thirds of such accidents involved drivers with BACs of 0.14 or higher. In fact, drivers with BACs between 0.01 and 0.03 were involved in more fatal accidents than drivers with BACs between 0.08 and 0.10. (The federal government classifies a fatal accident as "alcohol-related" if it involved a driver, a biker, or a pedestrian with a BAC of 0.01 or more, whether or not drinking actually contributed to the accident.) In 1995 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studied traffic data in 30 safety categories from the first five states to adopt the new DWI standard. In 21 of the 30 categories, those states were either no different from or less safe than the rest of the country.
Once the 0.08 standard took effect nationwide in 2000, a curious thing happened: Alcohol-related traffic fatalities increased, following a 20-year decline. Critics of the 0.08 standard predicted this would happen. The problem is that most people with a BAC between 0.08 and 0.10 don't drive erratically enough to be noticed by police officers in patrol cars. So police began setting up roadblocks to catch them. But every cop manning a roadblock aimed at catching motorists violating the new law is a cop not on the highways looking for more seriously impaired motorists. By 2004 alcohol-related fatalities went down again, but only because the decrease in states that don't use roadblocks compensated for a slight but continuing increase in the states that use them.
Read Full Article Here
Radley Balko | October 11, 2010
Last week Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo advocated creating a new criminal offense: "driving while ability impaired." The problem with the current Texas law prohibiting "driving while intoxicated" (DWI), Acevedo explained, is that it doesn't allow him to arrest a driver whose blood-alcohol content (BAC) is below 0.08 percent without additional evidence of impairment.
"People sometimes focus on how many drinks they can have before they'll go to jail," Acevedo told the Austin-American Statesman. "It varies….A person may be intoxicated at 0.05, and you don't want them out driving." Acevedo wants to be able to arrest people with BAC levels as low as 0.05 percent, and he may have support for that idea in the state legislature. John Whitmire (D-Houston), chairman of the state Senate's Criminal Justice Committee, told the Statesman Acevedo's plan "might be one way to go," adding, "Some people shouldn't be driving after one drink—probably below the 0.08 limit—and this could address that."
Bill Lewis, head of the Texas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, agreed. "I don't see how it would hurt," he told the paper. "The level of 0.08 is where we know most people are good and drunk...and there are people who are driving at less than the limit who probably should not be. It might keep some people from driving [drunk] again."
Acevedo, Whitmore, and Lewis are right, although probably not in the way they intended. People do react to alcohol differently. For many people one drink may well be too many, while experienced drinkers can function relatively normally with a BAC at or above the legal threshold for presuming intoxication. A person's impairment may also depend on variables such as the medications he is taking and the amount of sleep he got the night before. Acevedo et al.'s objections to the legal definition of intoxication highlight the absurdity of drawing an arbitrary, breathalyzer-based line between sobriety and criminal intoxication.
The right solution, however, is not to push the artificial line back farther. Instead we should get rid of it entirely by repealing drunk driving laws.
Consider the 2000 federal law that pressured states to lower their BAC standards to 0.08 from 0.10. At the time, the average BAC in alcohol-related fatal accidents was 0.17, and two-thirds of such accidents involved drivers with BACs of 0.14 or higher. In fact, drivers with BACs between 0.01 and 0.03 were involved in more fatal accidents than drivers with BACs between 0.08 and 0.10. (The federal government classifies a fatal accident as "alcohol-related" if it involved a driver, a biker, or a pedestrian with a BAC of 0.01 or more, whether or not drinking actually contributed to the accident.) In 1995 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studied traffic data in 30 safety categories from the first five states to adopt the new DWI standard. In 21 of the 30 categories, those states were either no different from or less safe than the rest of the country.
Once the 0.08 standard took effect nationwide in 2000, a curious thing happened: Alcohol-related traffic fatalities increased, following a 20-year decline. Critics of the 0.08 standard predicted this would happen. The problem is that most people with a BAC between 0.08 and 0.10 don't drive erratically enough to be noticed by police officers in patrol cars. So police began setting up roadblocks to catch them. But every cop manning a roadblock aimed at catching motorists violating the new law is a cop not on the highways looking for more seriously impaired motorists. By 2004 alcohol-related fatalities went down again, but only because the decrease in states that don't use roadblocks compensated for a slight but continuing increase in the states that use them.
Read Full Article Here
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Save And The Allstate Foundation Sponsor Teen Safe Driving Activities
The Allstate Foundation presented a $10,000 grant to Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) to assist SAVE chapters in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin in their efforts to increase youth safety and promote teen safe driving. This grant from the Allstate Foundation will support the SAVE program in schools and community agencies. Teen safe driving awareness campaigns will be conducted during key times of the year including back-to-school, holidays, Teen Safe Driving Month (May), prom, and graduation.
The North Chicago High School SAVE Chapter will participate in violence prevention and back-to-school rallies. The chapter will raise awareness by posting school safety and teen driving posters throughout the school and community. They are preparing classroom training sessions on how to avoid gangs and organizing a membership drive at middle and high schools. Students are planning and developing activities for National Youth Violence Prevention Week in March 2011. Students will participate in Daisy's Development and Resource Center's Telethon in October and conduct Teen Safe Driving activities with their local Allstate Agent and the County Coroner before prom in May 2011.
With support from Allstate agents and employee volunteers, SAVE chapters will be able to provide leadership in their schools and communities to ensure that all students will be encouraged and empowered with healthy life skills while engaging in educational activities and opportunities to promote teen safe driving and youth safety.
SAVE is a peer-to-peer organization that focuses on the power of positive peer influences. According to a recent Allstate Foundation survey, Shifting Teen Attitudes: The State of Teen Driving 2009, peers are a major influence on teens – both positive and negative. Some of the concerning statistics that SAVE chapters will address include:
• Eighty-two percent of teens reported using cell phones while driving.
• Nearly half (48 percent) of girls admit they are likely to speed more than 10 mph over the limit, versus 36 percent of boys.
• Seventy-seven percent of teens admit they have felt unsafe with another teen's driving.
“This generous grant from The Allstate Foundation will assist students in finding real solutions to the issues of teen safe driving that they face each day,” stated SAVE’s executive director, Carleen Wray.
Previous assistance from The Allstate Foundation has benefited SAVE schools in North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Nevada, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin, California, Colorado, and Ohio.
“By empowering teens to become smart driving activists in their schools and communities, we hope to reverse the staggering statistics,” said Bill McGrath, Regional Sales Leader for Allstate’s Midwest Region of Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. “Through programs like SAVE, we seek to develop innovative, teen-informed approaches to raise awareness of the issue and ultimately, to help save lives and reduce injuries.”
About the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere: SAVE started at West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, N.C. in 1989 following the tragic death of a student who was trying to break up a fight at an off-campus party. Students met first to console each other, then as an organization to promote violence prevention and to work together to prevent future incidents from occurring. SAVE provides education about the effects and consequences of violence and helps provide safe activities for students, parents and communities. For more information on SAVE or starting a SAVE chapter, visit www.nationalsave.org, or contact SAVE at (866) 343-SAVE to receive free start-up materials and guidance.
About The Allstate Foundation:
Established in 1952, The Allstate Foundation is an independent, charitable organization made possible by subsidiaries of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL). Allstate and The Allstate Foundation sponsor community initiatives to promote safe and vital communities; tolerance, inclusion, and diversity; and economic empowerment. The Allstate Foundation believes in the financial potential of every individual and in helping America's families achieve their American dream.
# # #
Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), Inc. is a nonprofit organization striving to decrease violence in our schools and communities by promoting student involvement, education and service opportunities to provide safer environments for learning.
Source
The North Chicago High School SAVE Chapter will participate in violence prevention and back-to-school rallies. The chapter will raise awareness by posting school safety and teen driving posters throughout the school and community. They are preparing classroom training sessions on how to avoid gangs and organizing a membership drive at middle and high schools. Students are planning and developing activities for National Youth Violence Prevention Week in March 2011. Students will participate in Daisy's Development and Resource Center's Telethon in October and conduct Teen Safe Driving activities with their local Allstate Agent and the County Coroner before prom in May 2011.
With support from Allstate agents and employee volunteers, SAVE chapters will be able to provide leadership in their schools and communities to ensure that all students will be encouraged and empowered with healthy life skills while engaging in educational activities and opportunities to promote teen safe driving and youth safety.
SAVE is a peer-to-peer organization that focuses on the power of positive peer influences. According to a recent Allstate Foundation survey, Shifting Teen Attitudes: The State of Teen Driving 2009, peers are a major influence on teens – both positive and negative. Some of the concerning statistics that SAVE chapters will address include:
• Eighty-two percent of teens reported using cell phones while driving.
• Nearly half (48 percent) of girls admit they are likely to speed more than 10 mph over the limit, versus 36 percent of boys.
• Seventy-seven percent of teens admit they have felt unsafe with another teen's driving.
“This generous grant from The Allstate Foundation will assist students in finding real solutions to the issues of teen safe driving that they face each day,” stated SAVE’s executive director, Carleen Wray.
Previous assistance from The Allstate Foundation has benefited SAVE schools in North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Nevada, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin, California, Colorado, and Ohio.
“By empowering teens to become smart driving activists in their schools and communities, we hope to reverse the staggering statistics,” said Bill McGrath, Regional Sales Leader for Allstate’s Midwest Region of Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. “Through programs like SAVE, we seek to develop innovative, teen-informed approaches to raise awareness of the issue and ultimately, to help save lives and reduce injuries.”
About the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere: SAVE started at West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, N.C. in 1989 following the tragic death of a student who was trying to break up a fight at an off-campus party. Students met first to console each other, then as an organization to promote violence prevention and to work together to prevent future incidents from occurring. SAVE provides education about the effects and consequences of violence and helps provide safe activities for students, parents and communities. For more information on SAVE or starting a SAVE chapter, visit www.nationalsave.org, or contact SAVE at (866) 343-SAVE to receive free start-up materials and guidance.
About The Allstate Foundation:
Established in 1952, The Allstate Foundation is an independent, charitable organization made possible by subsidiaries of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL). Allstate and The Allstate Foundation sponsor community initiatives to promote safe and vital communities; tolerance, inclusion, and diversity; and economic empowerment. The Allstate Foundation believes in the financial potential of every individual and in helping America's families achieve their American dream.
# # #
Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), Inc. is a nonprofit organization striving to decrease violence in our schools and communities by promoting student involvement, education and service opportunities to provide safer environments for learning.
Source
Drunk driving penalties to get tougher
Nova Scotia is about to get tougher on drinking drivers.
As a result of a change to the province’s Motor Vehicle Act that goes into effect on Oct. 26, drivers with blood-alcohol levels between 50 milligrams and 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood will lose their licences for seven days for a first offence, up from 24 hours. The penalty for a second offence is 15 days and 30 days for a third offence.
Drivers also must pay an $89.63 fee to get their licences reinstated.
Those discovered to have 80 milligrams of alcohol or higher in 100 millilitres of blood will continue to face criminal charges.
Margaret Miller, the national past president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the move is something the organization has been advocating for many years.
"I think, literally, eight to 10 years it’s been on our radar as one of the measures that would significantly reduce impaired-driving deaths and injuries," said the Shubenacadie woman whose son was killed by a drunk driver in 2004.
The change to the Motor Vehicle Act was passed last October but its implementation has been delayed. In an interview in May, Transportation Minister Bill Estabrooks blamed the delay on computer problems at Service Nova Scotia.
Miller said her organization will continue to push for random breath testing as another way to reduce the 70,000 deaths and injuries due to impaired driving that occur in Canada every year.
Random breath testing is used in many countries around the world, where statistics show decreases in deaths and injuries of 18 to 35 per cent after the random tests were introduced, she said.
"The real expectation in Canada is that if random breath testing comes into play, we’re going to see 20 per cent less deaths and injuries. If you take that from the 70,000, that’s a small town in Nova Scotia that will not be affected each year. . . . When you start looking at those numbers, my only question as a mother who has lost somebody is ‘Why didn’t they do this years ago?
Source
As a result of a change to the province’s Motor Vehicle Act that goes into effect on Oct. 26, drivers with blood-alcohol levels between 50 milligrams and 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood will lose their licences for seven days for a first offence, up from 24 hours. The penalty for a second offence is 15 days and 30 days for a third offence.
Drivers also must pay an $89.63 fee to get their licences reinstated.
Those discovered to have 80 milligrams of alcohol or higher in 100 millilitres of blood will continue to face criminal charges.
Margaret Miller, the national past president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the move is something the organization has been advocating for many years.
"I think, literally, eight to 10 years it’s been on our radar as one of the measures that would significantly reduce impaired-driving deaths and injuries," said the Shubenacadie woman whose son was killed by a drunk driver in 2004.
The change to the Motor Vehicle Act was passed last October but its implementation has been delayed. In an interview in May, Transportation Minister Bill Estabrooks blamed the delay on computer problems at Service Nova Scotia.
Miller said her organization will continue to push for random breath testing as another way to reduce the 70,000 deaths and injuries due to impaired driving that occur in Canada every year.
Random breath testing is used in many countries around the world, where statistics show decreases in deaths and injuries of 18 to 35 per cent after the random tests were introduced, she said.
"The real expectation in Canada is that if random breath testing comes into play, we’re going to see 20 per cent less deaths and injuries. If you take that from the 70,000, that’s a small town in Nova Scotia that will not be affected each year. . . . When you start looking at those numbers, my only question as a mother who has lost somebody is ‘Why didn’t they do this years ago?
Source
Safe driving stressed to students
With the real-life tragedy of a car crash that killed four Tracy teens in mid-September, Millennium High School students heard a message Thursday that hit close to home.
“It’s scary: Right when you are learning how to drive, you are at the highest risk of getting in an accident,” Kelly Browning told the students in a morning assembly. She’s the California executive director of Impact Teen Drivers, an organization that endeavors to make teens aware of the risks of reckless and distracted driving.
Sophomore Jordan Northcutt said she’s starting to think about getting her driver’s permit, and the presentation was instructive.
“They gave good tips on how to drive,” she said.
The Sept. 18 crash near Schulte and Lammers roads left a recent Millennium graduate and three other Tracy teens dead. Investigators said the car was speeding when the driver lost control, ran up a dirt embankment and flipped over, landing in a nearby canal.
For more than an hour Thursday, folks from Impact Teen Drivers and the California Highway Patrol stressed the importance of safe driving to the charter school’s freshman and sophomore students by combining heartfelt talks, student participation and striking video presentations.
Teens, especially, are at risk of making fatal driving choices. Car crashes are the No. 1 cause of death for young people from ages 16 to 20, according to Impact Teen Drivers. About 25 percent of fatal teen crashes happen when alcohol and drugs are involved. The rest can be chalked up to recklessness, distractions and the inexperience of youth.
When Browning asked if anyone had ever lost someone they knew in a car accident, most of the students raised their hands.
“We’ve had kids going to teens’ funerals this year,” said Scott Snyder, a teacher at Millenium. “It was probably one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had.”
In his closing remarks, event partner Ken Ucci of Get Real Behind the Wheel recalled another teen driving fatality. His son Mike was killed in 2007 when a car he was in crashed in front of West High School.
“You and I have to make an effort to become more aware and look out for each other,” said Ucci, who added with tears in his eyes that his son would probably be attending University of the Pacific if he hadn’t died.
During lunch at the school, Ucci and Browning were out with the students, giving them a chance to enter a sweepstakes to win either $1,000 or enrollment in racecar driving school. Ucci also handed out safe driving contracts for teens and parents.
Read more: Tracy Press - Safe driving stressed to students
Source
“It’s scary: Right when you are learning how to drive, you are at the highest risk of getting in an accident,” Kelly Browning told the students in a morning assembly. She’s the California executive director of Impact Teen Drivers, an organization that endeavors to make teens aware of the risks of reckless and distracted driving.
Sophomore Jordan Northcutt said she’s starting to think about getting her driver’s permit, and the presentation was instructive.
“They gave good tips on how to drive,” she said.
The Sept. 18 crash near Schulte and Lammers roads left a recent Millennium graduate and three other Tracy teens dead. Investigators said the car was speeding when the driver lost control, ran up a dirt embankment and flipped over, landing in a nearby canal.
For more than an hour Thursday, folks from Impact Teen Drivers and the California Highway Patrol stressed the importance of safe driving to the charter school’s freshman and sophomore students by combining heartfelt talks, student participation and striking video presentations.
Teens, especially, are at risk of making fatal driving choices. Car crashes are the No. 1 cause of death for young people from ages 16 to 20, according to Impact Teen Drivers. About 25 percent of fatal teen crashes happen when alcohol and drugs are involved. The rest can be chalked up to recklessness, distractions and the inexperience of youth.
When Browning asked if anyone had ever lost someone they knew in a car accident, most of the students raised their hands.
“We’ve had kids going to teens’ funerals this year,” said Scott Snyder, a teacher at Millenium. “It was probably one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had.”
In his closing remarks, event partner Ken Ucci of Get Real Behind the Wheel recalled another teen driving fatality. His son Mike was killed in 2007 when a car he was in crashed in front of West High School.
“You and I have to make an effort to become more aware and look out for each other,” said Ucci, who added with tears in his eyes that his son would probably be attending University of the Pacific if he hadn’t died.
During lunch at the school, Ucci and Browning were out with the students, giving them a chance to enter a sweepstakes to win either $1,000 or enrollment in racecar driving school. Ucci also handed out safe driving contracts for teens and parents.
Read more: Tracy Press - Safe driving stressed to students
Source
Drive Safety Work Week' Kicks Off to Promote Safe Driving
By Rahul Arora
“Drive Safely Work Week,” the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety's (NETS) annual workplace safety campaign, kicked off recently with a goal to protect employees and other drivers by reducing preventable accidents.
The campaign will provide a turnkey way to remind employees about safe driving practices. Hundreds of safety organizations and employers are enthusiastically participating in the campaign and are leaving no stone unturned to encourage other organizations to draft, maintain and enforce distracted driving (DWD) policies.
According to CellControl CEO Chuck Cox (News - Alert), Drive Safely Work Week is “a great time to draft and implement a distracted driving policy. Having such a policy is an important first step in improving driver safety,” he said.
Over the years, driver safety has been a major problem. A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that traffic accidents are a leading cause of workplace death and injury, and cost almost $100 billion annually in lost productivity and medical expenses. Most of the accidents caused on the roads are due to phone-related distractions.
“Driver safety is critical for our membership, “said Kathy Trahan, president/CEO of the Safety Council of the Louisiana Capital Area in a statement. “For the CEO/CIOs, corporate safety directors or fleet managers that want to maintain safe operating environments, distracted driving safety policies and enforcement solutions should be priority components of their safety strategy.”
Throughout the “Drive Safely Work Week,” various national fleet safety advocacy groups and public/private corporations will work to protect drivers in the communities, states and regions that they serve.
“Our Louisiana-based organization serves fleet partners across the country and monitors thousands of drivers to promote and advocate safe driving. Mobile phone distractions are a large and growing problem, and technology solutions like CellControl are important and save lives,” said Baron Davis, president of Safety Alert. “The CellControl distracted driving solution has been developed for corporations and government agencies, large or small, that provide mobile communication devices to their employees. Mobile devices are important and mission-critical productivity tools, but endangering lives and property due to out-of-policy usage must and can be prevented.”
CellControl will also be hosting online Web demos to educate business and community leaders on the dangers, realities and costs of distracted driving.
Source
“Drive Safely Work Week,” the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety's (NETS) annual workplace safety campaign, kicked off recently with a goal to protect employees and other drivers by reducing preventable accidents.
The campaign will provide a turnkey way to remind employees about safe driving practices. Hundreds of safety organizations and employers are enthusiastically participating in the campaign and are leaving no stone unturned to encourage other organizations to draft, maintain and enforce distracted driving (DWD) policies.
According to CellControl CEO Chuck Cox (News - Alert), Drive Safely Work Week is “a great time to draft and implement a distracted driving policy. Having such a policy is an important first step in improving driver safety,” he said.
Over the years, driver safety has been a major problem. A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that traffic accidents are a leading cause of workplace death and injury, and cost almost $100 billion annually in lost productivity and medical expenses. Most of the accidents caused on the roads are due to phone-related distractions.
“Driver safety is critical for our membership, “said Kathy Trahan, president/CEO of the Safety Council of the Louisiana Capital Area in a statement. “For the CEO/CIOs, corporate safety directors or fleet managers that want to maintain safe operating environments, distracted driving safety policies and enforcement solutions should be priority components of their safety strategy.”
Throughout the “Drive Safely Work Week,” various national fleet safety advocacy groups and public/private corporations will work to protect drivers in the communities, states and regions that they serve.
“Our Louisiana-based organization serves fleet partners across the country and monitors thousands of drivers to promote and advocate safe driving. Mobile phone distractions are a large and growing problem, and technology solutions like CellControl are important and save lives,” said Baron Davis, president of Safety Alert. “The CellControl distracted driving solution has been developed for corporations and government agencies, large or small, that provide mobile communication devices to their employees. Mobile devices are important and mission-critical productivity tools, but endangering lives and property due to out-of-policy usage must and can be prevented.”
CellControl will also be hosting online Web demos to educate business and community leaders on the dangers, realities and costs of distracted driving.
Source
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Is Light Drinking During Pregnancy Safe?
Study: Pregnant Women's Light Drinking Doesn't Harm Baby
Pregnant women have long been warned to avoid alcohol, but new research suggests having one or two drinks a week doesn't raise the risk of developmental problems in children. Babies born to light drinkers—or those who had a glass of wine, 1.7 ounces of spirits, or about 16 ounces of beer a week—had no added risk of emotional or behavioral problems, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. In fact, boys whose mothers were light drinkers scored higher on cognitive tests than those whose mothers abstained. The study authors say this doesn't mean pregnant women should begin drinking, and the American Pregnancy Association maintains that there is no safe amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. "There is a risk that if pregnant women take this research as a green light to drink a small amount, they could become complacent, drink more than they think they are and inadvertently cause harm to their unborn child," Chris Sorek, the chief executive of alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware, told BBC News. Researchers tracked the health of more than 11,000 children, asking their mothers about drinking habits during pregnancy, and then following up on their behavior and cognitive abilities at ages 3 and 5. Though light drinking led to no harmful consequences, children whose mothers imbibed at least seven drinks a week—or more than six at one time—were more likely to be hyperactive and show signs of developmental disorders.
Entire Article
Pregnant women have long been warned to avoid alcohol, but new research suggests having one or two drinks a week doesn't raise the risk of developmental problems in children. Babies born to light drinkers—or those who had a glass of wine, 1.7 ounces of spirits, or about 16 ounces of beer a week—had no added risk of emotional or behavioral problems, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. In fact, boys whose mothers were light drinkers scored higher on cognitive tests than those whose mothers abstained. The study authors say this doesn't mean pregnant women should begin drinking, and the American Pregnancy Association maintains that there is no safe amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. "There is a risk that if pregnant women take this research as a green light to drink a small amount, they could become complacent, drink more than they think they are and inadvertently cause harm to their unborn child," Chris Sorek, the chief executive of alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware, told BBC News. Researchers tracked the health of more than 11,000 children, asking their mothers about drinking habits during pregnancy, and then following up on their behavior and cognitive abilities at ages 3 and 5. Though light drinking led to no harmful consequences, children whose mothers imbibed at least seven drinks a week—or more than six at one time—were more likely to be hyperactive and show signs of developmental disorders.
Entire Article
15% U.S. Adults Binge Drinking - CDC
Vital Signs: Binge Drinking Among High School Students and Adults --- United States, 2009
Early Release
October 5, 2010
ABSTRACT
Background: Binge drinking was responsible for more than half of the estimated 79,000 deaths and two thirds of the estimated 2.3 million years of potential life lost as a result of excessive drinking each year in the United States during 2001--2005.
Methods: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on the prevalence of binge drinking (defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more for men during the past 30 days) among U.S. adults aged ≥18 years who responded to the BRFSS survey by landline or cellular telephone. Data also were analyzed from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) on the prevalence of current alcohol use (consuming at least one alcoholic drink during the 30 days before the survey), and binge drinking (consuming five or more alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours during the 30 days before the survey) among U.S. high school students, and on the prevalence of binge drinking among high school students who reported current alcohol use.
Results: Among U.S. adults, the prevalence of reported binge drinking was 15.2% among landline respondents. Binge drinking was more common among men (20.7%), persons aged 18--24 years (25.6%) and 25−34 years (22.5%), whites (16.0%), and persons with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (19.3%). Among cellular telephone respondents, the overall prevalence of binge drinking (20.6%) was higher than among landline respondents, although the demographic patterns of binge drinking were similar. Prevalence among high school students was 41.8% for current alcohol use, 24.2% for binge drinking, and 60.9% for binge drinking among students who reported current alcohol use.
Conclusions: Binge drinking is common among U.S. adults, particularly those with higher household incomes, and among high school students. Binge drinking estimates for adults were higher in the cellular telephone sample than in the landline sample. Most youths who reported current alcohol use also reported binge drinking.
Implications for Public Health Practice: Binge drinking is a serious problem among adults and youths that can be reduced by implementation of evidence-based interventions.
Excessive alcohol use was the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States (1), and it annually accounted for, on average, approximately 79,000 deaths* per year and 2.3 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) during 2001--2005.† Binge drinking was responsible for more than half of those deaths and two thirds of the YPLL (2). Healthy People 2010 called for reducing the overall prevalence of binge drinking among adults and youths.§ For this report, data from landline and cellular telephone respondents to the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were used to estimate the prevalence of binge drinking among adults in the United States, and data from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) were used to estimate the prevalence of current alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students in the United States.
Methods
BRFSS is a state-based telephone survey of civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. adults that collects information on many leading health conditions and health risk behaviors, including binge drinking. BRFSS surveys are administered to households with landlines in all states and the District of Columbia (DC). In 2009, all 50 states (except South Dakota and Tennessee) and DC began administering up to 10% of their total state completed surveys to cellular telephone users. Annually, respondents who report consuming any alcoholic beverages are asked how many times they engaged in binge drinking, defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more drinks per occasion for men during the preceding 30 days. The prevalence of binge drinking was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported at least one binge drinking episode during the preceding 30 days by the total number of BRFSS respondents. Respondents who refused to answer, had a missing answer, or who answered "don't know/not sure" were excluded from the analysis.
In 2009, the median Council of American Survey and Research Organizations (CASRO) response rate for the landline BRFSS was 52.9% (range among states: 37.9%--66.9%), and the median CASRO cooperation rate was 75.0% (range: 55.5%--88.0%). The preliminary median CASRO response rate for the cellular telephone BRFSS was 37.6% (range among states: 20.5%--60.3%), and the preliminary median CASRO cooperation rate was 76.0% (range: 47.7%--90.9%). A total of 412,005 landline respondents and 15,578 cellular telephone respondents were included in the analysis. Data collected by landline were weighted to the age, sex, and racial/ethnic distribution of each state's adult population and to the respondent's probability of selection. Cellular telephone data were unweighted, but were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. Census standard population.
The biennial national YRBS, a component of CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, estimates the prevalence of health risk behaviors among U.S. high school students. The 2009 national survey obtained cross-sectional data representative of public- and private-school students in grades 9--12 in the 50 states and DC (3). Students completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire that included questions about alcohol use. Students from 158 schools completed 16,460 questionnaires. The school response rate was 81%, the student response rate was 88%, and the overall response rate was 71%. After quality control measures were applied, data from 16,410 students were available for analysis.
Current alcohol use is defined in YRBS as having had at least one drink of alcohol on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey, and binge drinking is defined as having had five or more drinks of alcohol within a couple of hours on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey. The prevalence of current alcohol use was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported current alcohol use by the total number of respondents, and the prevalence of binge drinking was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported binge drinking by the total number of respondents. The prevalence of binge drinking among current drinkers was calculated by dividing the total number of binge drinkers by the total number of current drinkers. Respondents who had missing information were excluded from the analysis. YRBS data were weighted to adjust for school and student nonresponse and oversampling of black and Hispanic students.
BRFSS Results
Landline telephone respondents. The overall prevalence of binge drinking among adult BRFSS landline respondents was 15.2% (Table 1). Binge drinking prevalence among men (20.7%) was twice that for women (10.0%). Binge drinking also was most common among persons aged 18--24 years (25.6%) and 25--34 years (22.5%), and then gradually declined with increasing age. The prevalence of binge drinking among landline respondents who were non-Hispanic whites (16.0%) and Hispanics (16.3%) was significantly higher than the prevalence for non-Hispanic blacks (10.3%). Landline respondents with some college education (16.4%) and college graduates (15.3%) were most likely to report binge drinking, whereas those who did not graduate from high school were the least likely to report binge drinking (12.1%). Binge drinking prevalence also increased with household income and was most commonly reported by respondents with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (19.3%).
By state, the prevalence of binge drinking ranged from 6.8% (Tennessee) to 23.9% (Wisconsin) (Figure 1). States with the highest prevalence of adult binge drinking were located in the Midwest, North Central Plains, and lower New England. Additional high-prevalence states included Alaska, Delaware, DC, and Nevada.
Cellular telephone respondents. In 2009, the overall, age-adjusted prevalence of binge drinking among adult BRFSS cellular telephone respondents was 20.6% (Table 2). Binge drinking prevalence among men (26.5%) was almost twice that for women (14.5%). Binge drinking also was most common among persons aged 18--24 years (35.4%) and 25--34 years (30.8%), and then gradually declined with increasing age. The prevalence of binge drinking among cellular telephone respondents who were non-Hispanic whites (22.3%), other non-Hispanics (including American Indians/Alaska Natives and Asians/Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders) (19.9%), and Hispanics (17.5%) was significantly higher than the prevalence for non-Hispanic blacks (13.9%). Binge drinking prevalence increased with household income and was reported most commonly by respondents with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (25.4%).
YRBS Results
In 2009, the prevalence of current alcohol use and of binge drinking among high school students was 41.8% and 24.2%, respectively (Table 3). The prevalence of binge drinking was similar among boys (25.0%) and girls (23.4%). Non-Hispanic white (27.8%) and Hispanic (24.1%) students had a higher prevalence of reported binge drinking than non-Hispanic black students (13.7%). Binge drinking prevalence increased with grade level; prevalence among 12th grade students (33.5%) was more than twice that among 9th grade students (15.3%).
The prevalence of binge drinking among high school students who reported current alcohol use was 60.9% (64.1% among boys and 57.5% among girls) (Table 3). Non-Hispanic white (64.8%) and Hispanic (59.3%) students who reported current alcohol use had a higher prevalence of binge drinking than non-Hispanic black (43.5%) students who reported current alcohol use. The prevalence of binge drinking among students who reported current alcohol use increased with grade level, from 51.1% in 9th grade students to 67.4% in 12th grade students.
From 1993 to 2009, the prevalence of binge drinking among adults did not decrease among men or women. Among high school students, the prevalence of binge drinking decreased among boys, but has remained about the same among girls (Figure 2).
Conclusions and Comment
The results in this report indicate that binge drinking is common among U.S. adults and high school students. Binge drinking among adults was slightly higher in 2009 (15.2%) than in 1993 (14.2%).¶ Although binge drinking continued to be common among all population groups, it was most common among males, persons aged 18--34 years, and those with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more. Estimates of binge drinking were higher for the cellular telephone sample (20.6% overall) than the landline sample (15.2% overall), particularly among younger adults. By state, compared to 1993, the prevalence of binge drinking among adults in 2009 was significantly greater in 20 states, was significantly less in two states, and stayed about the same in 29 states (CDC, unpublished data, 2010). The prevalence of current alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students was lower in 2009 (41.8% and 24.2%) than in 1993 (48.0% and 30.0%); however, the differences in these measures were significant among boys, but not girls.**Current alcohol use and binge drinking increased with grade. The majority of high school students who report current alcohol use also report binge drinking across all demographic groups, except black students. Among adults, 29% of those who report current drinking also report binge drinking (4).
The higher prevalence of binge drinking among adult males, whites, young adults, and persons with higher household incomes has been reported before (5). The high prevalence partly could reflect that binge drinking, unlike other leading health risks (e.g., smoking and obesity), has not been widely recognized as a health risk or subjected to intense prevention efforts (4). The differences in binge drinking among population groups might reflect differences in state and local laws that affect the price, availability, and marketing of alcoholic beverages (6). Estimates of binge drinking from the cellular telephone sample were higher than from the landline sample, although the demographic patterns of binge drinking were similar. Higher estimates of binge drinking have been reported previously among cellular telephone respondents relative to landline respondents in a small number of states (CDC, unpublished data, 2010), but have not been reported nationally. During the last half of 2009, an estimated 24.5% of U.S. households had only cellular telephones.†† As the U.S. population increasingly adopts cellular telephones in place of landlines, the BRFSS survey will need to incorporate cellular telephone respondents to help assure representativeness, particularly when measuring behaviors that are common among younger adults.
The high prevalence of binge drinking among high school students also is consistent with previous reports (7), and affirms that most youths who drink alcohol do so to the point of intoxication. The similarities in the distribution of binge drinking among youths and adults by various demographic characteristics (e.g., race and ethnicity) also are consistent with the strong relationship between youth and adult drinking in states (8), which is influenced strongly by state alcohol control policies (6).
The findings in this report are subject to at least six limitations. First, BRFSS and YRBS data are self-reported. Among adults, alcohol consumption generally, and excessive drinking in particular, are underreported in surveys because of recall, social desirability, and nonresponse bias (9). A recent study found that BRFSS identifies only 22% to 32% of presumed alcohol consumption in states based on alcohol sales (10). Second, an increasing proportion of youths and young adults aged 18--34 years use cellular telephones exclusively (11); therefore, landline surveys of persons in this age group might not be representative of this population. Third, the results of the cellular telephone survey were unweighted, but results of the landline survey were weighted to represent the U.S. adult population. However, the distribution of cellular telephone respondents by various demographic characteristics (e.g., sex and race/ethnicity) was quite similar to the composition of the general population, and the cellular telephone data were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. Census standard population. Fourth, response rates for both the landline and cellular telephone BRFSS were low, which increases the risk for response bias. Fifth, YRBS defines binge drinking for boys and girls as five or more drinks within a couple of hours, and the prevalence of binge drinking among girls would likely have been higher if it were defined using a four-drink threshold, consistent with national recommendations. Finally, YRBS data apply only to youths who attend school, and therefore are not representative of all persons in this age group. Nationwide, in 2007, of persons aged 16--17 years, approximately 4% were not enrolled in a high school program and had not completed high school.§§
To reduce the adverse impact of binge drinking on individuals and communities, health professionals and community leaders should consider implementing interventions that have been proven in scientific studies to reduce binge drinking among adults and youths. Evidence-based interventions for individuals include those recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force¶¶ and evidence-based interventions for communities include those recommended in the Guide to Community Preventive Services.*** Local leaders need to carefully consider which of these interventions would be most acceptable, feasible, and effective in their communities; other innovative solutions also might be found for tackling this problem and further research is encouraged to find such solutions. The findings in this report also support the need to improve public health surveillance for binge drinking among adults by increasing the number of cellular telephone respondents to the BRFSS.
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Early Release
October 5, 2010
ABSTRACT
Background: Binge drinking was responsible for more than half of the estimated 79,000 deaths and two thirds of the estimated 2.3 million years of potential life lost as a result of excessive drinking each year in the United States during 2001--2005.
Methods: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on the prevalence of binge drinking (defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more for men during the past 30 days) among U.S. adults aged ≥18 years who responded to the BRFSS survey by landline or cellular telephone. Data also were analyzed from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) on the prevalence of current alcohol use (consuming at least one alcoholic drink during the 30 days before the survey), and binge drinking (consuming five or more alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours during the 30 days before the survey) among U.S. high school students, and on the prevalence of binge drinking among high school students who reported current alcohol use.
Results: Among U.S. adults, the prevalence of reported binge drinking was 15.2% among landline respondents. Binge drinking was more common among men (20.7%), persons aged 18--24 years (25.6%) and 25−34 years (22.5%), whites (16.0%), and persons with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (19.3%). Among cellular telephone respondents, the overall prevalence of binge drinking (20.6%) was higher than among landline respondents, although the demographic patterns of binge drinking were similar. Prevalence among high school students was 41.8% for current alcohol use, 24.2% for binge drinking, and 60.9% for binge drinking among students who reported current alcohol use.
Conclusions: Binge drinking is common among U.S. adults, particularly those with higher household incomes, and among high school students. Binge drinking estimates for adults were higher in the cellular telephone sample than in the landline sample. Most youths who reported current alcohol use also reported binge drinking.
Implications for Public Health Practice: Binge drinking is a serious problem among adults and youths that can be reduced by implementation of evidence-based interventions.
Excessive alcohol use was the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States (1), and it annually accounted for, on average, approximately 79,000 deaths* per year and 2.3 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) during 2001--2005.† Binge drinking was responsible for more than half of those deaths and two thirds of the YPLL (2). Healthy People 2010 called for reducing the overall prevalence of binge drinking among adults and youths.§ For this report, data from landline and cellular telephone respondents to the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were used to estimate the prevalence of binge drinking among adults in the United States, and data from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) were used to estimate the prevalence of current alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students in the United States.
Methods
BRFSS is a state-based telephone survey of civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. adults that collects information on many leading health conditions and health risk behaviors, including binge drinking. BRFSS surveys are administered to households with landlines in all states and the District of Columbia (DC). In 2009, all 50 states (except South Dakota and Tennessee) and DC began administering up to 10% of their total state completed surveys to cellular telephone users. Annually, respondents who report consuming any alcoholic beverages are asked how many times they engaged in binge drinking, defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks per occasion for women and five or more drinks per occasion for men during the preceding 30 days. The prevalence of binge drinking was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported at least one binge drinking episode during the preceding 30 days by the total number of BRFSS respondents. Respondents who refused to answer, had a missing answer, or who answered "don't know/not sure" were excluded from the analysis.
In 2009, the median Council of American Survey and Research Organizations (CASRO) response rate for the landline BRFSS was 52.9% (range among states: 37.9%--66.9%), and the median CASRO cooperation rate was 75.0% (range: 55.5%--88.0%). The preliminary median CASRO response rate for the cellular telephone BRFSS was 37.6% (range among states: 20.5%--60.3%), and the preliminary median CASRO cooperation rate was 76.0% (range: 47.7%--90.9%). A total of 412,005 landline respondents and 15,578 cellular telephone respondents were included in the analysis. Data collected by landline were weighted to the age, sex, and racial/ethnic distribution of each state's adult population and to the respondent's probability of selection. Cellular telephone data were unweighted, but were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. Census standard population.
The biennial national YRBS, a component of CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, estimates the prevalence of health risk behaviors among U.S. high school students. The 2009 national survey obtained cross-sectional data representative of public- and private-school students in grades 9--12 in the 50 states and DC (3). Students completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire that included questions about alcohol use. Students from 158 schools completed 16,460 questionnaires. The school response rate was 81%, the student response rate was 88%, and the overall response rate was 71%. After quality control measures were applied, data from 16,410 students were available for analysis.
Current alcohol use is defined in YRBS as having had at least one drink of alcohol on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey, and binge drinking is defined as having had five or more drinks of alcohol within a couple of hours on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey. The prevalence of current alcohol use was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported current alcohol use by the total number of respondents, and the prevalence of binge drinking was calculated by dividing the total number of respondents who reported binge drinking by the total number of respondents. The prevalence of binge drinking among current drinkers was calculated by dividing the total number of binge drinkers by the total number of current drinkers. Respondents who had missing information were excluded from the analysis. YRBS data were weighted to adjust for school and student nonresponse and oversampling of black and Hispanic students.
BRFSS Results
Landline telephone respondents. The overall prevalence of binge drinking among adult BRFSS landline respondents was 15.2% (Table 1). Binge drinking prevalence among men (20.7%) was twice that for women (10.0%). Binge drinking also was most common among persons aged 18--24 years (25.6%) and 25--34 years (22.5%), and then gradually declined with increasing age. The prevalence of binge drinking among landline respondents who were non-Hispanic whites (16.0%) and Hispanics (16.3%) was significantly higher than the prevalence for non-Hispanic blacks (10.3%). Landline respondents with some college education (16.4%) and college graduates (15.3%) were most likely to report binge drinking, whereas those who did not graduate from high school were the least likely to report binge drinking (12.1%). Binge drinking prevalence also increased with household income and was most commonly reported by respondents with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (19.3%).
By state, the prevalence of binge drinking ranged from 6.8% (Tennessee) to 23.9% (Wisconsin) (Figure 1). States with the highest prevalence of adult binge drinking were located in the Midwest, North Central Plains, and lower New England. Additional high-prevalence states included Alaska, Delaware, DC, and Nevada.
Cellular telephone respondents. In 2009, the overall, age-adjusted prevalence of binge drinking among adult BRFSS cellular telephone respondents was 20.6% (Table 2). Binge drinking prevalence among men (26.5%) was almost twice that for women (14.5%). Binge drinking also was most common among persons aged 18--24 years (35.4%) and 25--34 years (30.8%), and then gradually declined with increasing age. The prevalence of binge drinking among cellular telephone respondents who were non-Hispanic whites (22.3%), other non-Hispanics (including American Indians/Alaska Natives and Asians/Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders) (19.9%), and Hispanics (17.5%) was significantly higher than the prevalence for non-Hispanic blacks (13.9%). Binge drinking prevalence increased with household income and was reported most commonly by respondents with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (25.4%).
YRBS Results
In 2009, the prevalence of current alcohol use and of binge drinking among high school students was 41.8% and 24.2%, respectively (Table 3). The prevalence of binge drinking was similar among boys (25.0%) and girls (23.4%). Non-Hispanic white (27.8%) and Hispanic (24.1%) students had a higher prevalence of reported binge drinking than non-Hispanic black students (13.7%). Binge drinking prevalence increased with grade level; prevalence among 12th grade students (33.5%) was more than twice that among 9th grade students (15.3%).
The prevalence of binge drinking among high school students who reported current alcohol use was 60.9% (64.1% among boys and 57.5% among girls) (Table 3). Non-Hispanic white (64.8%) and Hispanic (59.3%) students who reported current alcohol use had a higher prevalence of binge drinking than non-Hispanic black (43.5%) students who reported current alcohol use. The prevalence of binge drinking among students who reported current alcohol use increased with grade level, from 51.1% in 9th grade students to 67.4% in 12th grade students.
From 1993 to 2009, the prevalence of binge drinking among adults did not decrease among men or women. Among high school students, the prevalence of binge drinking decreased among boys, but has remained about the same among girls (Figure 2).
Conclusions and Comment
The results in this report indicate that binge drinking is common among U.S. adults and high school students. Binge drinking among adults was slightly higher in 2009 (15.2%) than in 1993 (14.2%).¶ Although binge drinking continued to be common among all population groups, it was most common among males, persons aged 18--34 years, and those with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more. Estimates of binge drinking were higher for the cellular telephone sample (20.6% overall) than the landline sample (15.2% overall), particularly among younger adults. By state, compared to 1993, the prevalence of binge drinking among adults in 2009 was significantly greater in 20 states, was significantly less in two states, and stayed about the same in 29 states (CDC, unpublished data, 2010). The prevalence of current alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students was lower in 2009 (41.8% and 24.2%) than in 1993 (48.0% and 30.0%); however, the differences in these measures were significant among boys, but not girls.**Current alcohol use and binge drinking increased with grade. The majority of high school students who report current alcohol use also report binge drinking across all demographic groups, except black students. Among adults, 29% of those who report current drinking also report binge drinking (4).
The higher prevalence of binge drinking among adult males, whites, young adults, and persons with higher household incomes has been reported before (5). The high prevalence partly could reflect that binge drinking, unlike other leading health risks (e.g., smoking and obesity), has not been widely recognized as a health risk or subjected to intense prevention efforts (4). The differences in binge drinking among population groups might reflect differences in state and local laws that affect the price, availability, and marketing of alcoholic beverages (6). Estimates of binge drinking from the cellular telephone sample were higher than from the landline sample, although the demographic patterns of binge drinking were similar. Higher estimates of binge drinking have been reported previously among cellular telephone respondents relative to landline respondents in a small number of states (CDC, unpublished data, 2010), but have not been reported nationally. During the last half of 2009, an estimated 24.5% of U.S. households had only cellular telephones.†† As the U.S. population increasingly adopts cellular telephones in place of landlines, the BRFSS survey will need to incorporate cellular telephone respondents to help assure representativeness, particularly when measuring behaviors that are common among younger adults.
The high prevalence of binge drinking among high school students also is consistent with previous reports (7), and affirms that most youths who drink alcohol do so to the point of intoxication. The similarities in the distribution of binge drinking among youths and adults by various demographic characteristics (e.g., race and ethnicity) also are consistent with the strong relationship between youth and adult drinking in states (8), which is influenced strongly by state alcohol control policies (6).
The findings in this report are subject to at least six limitations. First, BRFSS and YRBS data are self-reported. Among adults, alcohol consumption generally, and excessive drinking in particular, are underreported in surveys because of recall, social desirability, and nonresponse bias (9). A recent study found that BRFSS identifies only 22% to 32% of presumed alcohol consumption in states based on alcohol sales (10). Second, an increasing proportion of youths and young adults aged 18--34 years use cellular telephones exclusively (11); therefore, landline surveys of persons in this age group might not be representative of this population. Third, the results of the cellular telephone survey were unweighted, but results of the landline survey were weighted to represent the U.S. adult population. However, the distribution of cellular telephone respondents by various demographic characteristics (e.g., sex and race/ethnicity) was quite similar to the composition of the general population, and the cellular telephone data were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. Census standard population. Fourth, response rates for both the landline and cellular telephone BRFSS were low, which increases the risk for response bias. Fifth, YRBS defines binge drinking for boys and girls as five or more drinks within a couple of hours, and the prevalence of binge drinking among girls would likely have been higher if it were defined using a four-drink threshold, consistent with national recommendations. Finally, YRBS data apply only to youths who attend school, and therefore are not representative of all persons in this age group. Nationwide, in 2007, of persons aged 16--17 years, approximately 4% were not enrolled in a high school program and had not completed high school.§§
To reduce the adverse impact of binge drinking on individuals and communities, health professionals and community leaders should consider implementing interventions that have been proven in scientific studies to reduce binge drinking among adults and youths. Evidence-based interventions for individuals include those recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force¶¶ and evidence-based interventions for communities include those recommended in the Guide to Community Preventive Services.*** Local leaders need to carefully consider which of these interventions would be most acceptable, feasible, and effective in their communities; other innovative solutions also might be found for tackling this problem and further research is encouraged to find such solutions. The findings in this report also support the need to improve public health surveillance for binge drinking among adults by increasing the number of cellular telephone respondents to the BRFSS.
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