DECLINE IN DRINKING AND DRIVING CRASHES, FATALITIES AND INJURIES IN THE USA

Over the last decade, the number of deaths and injuries related to impaired driving has declined significantly in the U.S. as well as in other industrialized countries. For example, in 1982, 57 percent of all highway fatalities in the U.S. involved a driver with a measurable glood alcohol level. By 1992, this figure had decreased to less than 46 percent of fatalities. At the same time, the total number of traffic fatalities decreased from 43,945 in 1982 to 39,235 in 1992. An understanding of this significant social change can indicate how further decreases might be achieved. It can also serve as a model for understanding other social problems and how they might be ameliorated.