Census Impaired Driving Profile

WASHINGTON--Dec. 21, 2013: Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

IMPAIRED DRIVING

Profile America — Saturday, December 21st. Winter officially arrives today at 11 minutes past 10 p.m. in our Eastern time zone. The winter solstice heralds the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, and the season's extended darkness, coupled with holiday partying, means it's a time for extra caution behind the wheel. So December is well chosen as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, also known as Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month. While the number of people killed on the nation's highways each year has declined in the past few decades, accidents still claim almost 31,000 lives. About one-third of these deaths occur in accidents where the people involved have blood alcohol levels above the legal limit. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at Census Info.