USA's Drunk Driving Report Card Drops to 'C' Grade

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2002 With alcohol-related traffic deaths on the rise, the United States was handed a "C" grade in the war on drunk driving, according to the MADD Rating the States 2002 report card released today by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the GuideOne Foundation. The last time MADD issued the Rating the States report was in 1999 when the nation earned a "C+" grade.

"C is for complacency," said MADD National President Wendy J. Hamilton, who pointed out that while alcohol-related traffic deaths dropped by 40 percent between the time MADD was founded in 1980 and 1993, progress stalled as deaths leveled off at about 16,500 between 1993 and 1999. Over the past three years, drunk driving deaths have climbed by five percent.

Last year, 17,448 were killed in alcohol-related crashes -- representing 41 percent of all traffic deaths. More than 500,000 Americans are injured annually in crashes involving alcohol. The annual economic cost of alcohol- related crashes exceeds $114 billion.

"The nation should be acing this fight for our lives because drunk driving is 100 percent preventable," Hamilton said. "The nation's lower grade reflects the lack of political will, leadership and resources dedicated to waging a winning war on drunk driving." MADD today challenged citizens and political leaders to "Get MADD All Over Again" by supporting an eight-point plan to curb drunk driving and underage drinking.

The MADD report cards graded the nation, each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico on efforts to combat the most frequently committed violent crime -- drunk driving, and underage drinking -- the No. 1 youth drug problem.

Hamilton said that the nation's grade was lowered to a "C" in part due to an increase in the country's alcohol-related traffic deaths, illustrating the "urgent need for more government resources dedicated to drunk driving and underage drinking as well as strong leadership" from Congress, the Bush Administration and other elected officials. "The war on drunk driving has reached a complacent plateau and we must change the dangerous public perception that the fight against drunk driving has been won," added Hamilton.

At the federal level, in the area of political leadership, the Administration's grade slipped to a "C" since the last Rating the States report released in 1999, while the U.S. Senate earned a "B+," and the U.S. House a "C." Nationally, law enforcement programs and blood-alcohol testing and data collection efforts improved to a "C+." Passage of administrative measures and criminal sanctions nationwide remained above average at a "B-," youth programs and underage drinking prevention efforts dropped to a "C+" grade, and victims programs dropped to a "D+."

"At the rate we are going, one-third of Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives," said Jim Wallace, president and CEO of GuideOne Insurance. "That is unacceptable. Clearly, the nation and all of the states can and should do better."

No state earned an "A" in this year's report. California received the highest grade of a "B+," followed by Georgia, New York, North Carolina and Oregon, which received "B" grades. The only state to receive a failing "F" grade was Montana. The District of Columbia received a "D+," North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina and South Dakota received a "D." Alaska and Massachusetts received a "D-."

Sixty percent of each state's overall grade was based on its alcohol- related fatality trend and priority drunk driving laws. The other 40 percent was based on political leadership, blood-alcohol testing and records, law enforcement programs, administrative measures and criminal sanctions, underage drinking prevention, and victim issues.

MADD has identified several top priority laws for states to adopt: administrative license revocation (ALR); .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC)/illegal per se; primary enforcement safety belt laws; mandatory alcohol assessment and treatment; mandatory BAC testing for all drivers in fatal crashes; hospital BAC reporting; victim rights constitutional amendments; vehicle impoundment; and ignition interlock laws.

"These measures are the basic building blocks of a comprehensive battle plan against drunk driving," said James Fell, an alcohol-traffic safety expert at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, who serves on the MADD national board of directors and the Rating the States task force.

Fell said that, on average, 48 Americans are killed in alcohol-related traffic crashes every day. He warned that the daily death toll typically rises sharply during the Thanksgiving weekend, with an average of 67 alcohol- related traffic deaths each day over the past three Thanksgiving holidays. The National Safety Council predicts that 575 people will be killed and 30,500 injured in highway crashes during the 2002 Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with up to 50 percent of the fatalities related to alcohol-impaired driving.

Sandra Love of Coldspring, Texas, knows all too well how drunk driving can shatter a family and turn a joyous holiday into tragedy. While traveling home from her family's Thanksgiving dinner in 2000, she witnessed her parents, two children, niece and nephew being struck and killed by a drunk driver.

Currently, more than 300 people are killed in alcohol-related crashes each week, MADD President Hamilton said. "Drunk driving deserves top priority attention and action from all levels of government."

MADD urged the nation to adopt its eight-point plan to jump-start the war on drunk driving. The plan urges citizens and leaders to "Get MADD All Over Again" and calls for widespread use of sobriety checkpoints and other highly visible enforcement efforts, tougher laws for the more serious DUI offenders, court monitoring programs, higher beer excise taxes, enacting stronger seat belt laws, reducing underage drinking, and establishing a National Traffic Safety Fund to support education and enforcement programs.

Founded in 1980, MADD's mission is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. MADD has more than 600 affiliates and two million members and supporters.

For more than a half century, GuideOne Insurance has steadfastly upheld its social mission to fight the battle against drinking and driving and underage drinking. GuideOne provided seed money to help start the first MADD chapters in 1980. The GuideOne Foundation is the only nonprofit foundation of its kind dedicated to eliminating the tragedy of drinking and driving and underage drinking in America.

The entire MADD Rating the States 2002 report can be found on MADD's Web site: http://www.madd.org .