California’s DUI deaths last year reached their lowest level since 1952, and they went through the largest annual decrease in 14 years, according to data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A total of 791 people were killed in DUI crashes on California roadways last year, compared with 950 in 2009. There were 792 deaths in 1952, but data was recorded differently then.
Safety officials credit a record number of DUI checkpoints conducted in 2010 as partly responsible for the sharp reduction in DUI deaths. The Office of Traffic Safety allocated $16.8 million in federal funds to law enforcement agencies to conduct 2,553 DUI checkpoints in 2010, up from the $11.7 million allocated to 1,740 checkpoints in 2009.
According to federal officials, checkpoints have provided the most effective results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, and 88 percent of Californians surveyed report they support the use of checkpoints.
Other factors at work: Mothers Against Drunk Driving has campaigned for harsher laws since its inception in 1980; Caltrans runs messages on electronic freeway signs urging motorists to call 911; and Alameda County is one of four counties in the state with a pilot program requiring DUI offenders to fit their cars with interlock ignitions so they can’t drink and drive.
Transit agencies across the state also offer free rides to passengers on New Year’s Eve, and AAA offers free rides home for those who have had too much to drink. TV and radio commercials promoting designated drivers are common this time of year.
DUI deaths in California increased yearly from 1998 to 2005, but have decreased every year since 2005.
On Friday, California will start its annual holiday DUI crackdown, coinciding with the nationwide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.
Nationwide deaths in crashes involving drunken drivers dropped 4.9 percent in 2010, taking 10,228 lives compared with 10,759 in 2009. But they dropped 14 percent in California.
“This marks a huge milestone in the fight against drunk driving,” said California Office of Traffic Safety Director Christopher Murphy. “While we are elated by these figures, there were still 791 lives, futures and dreams that will never be fully realized. We cannot back off from our ultimate goal — toward zero deaths.”
While drinking and driving should never be condoned, not every arrest is actually legal. For this fact alone, you should immediately contact a California DUI attorney if you have been charged with drunk driving or a related crime.
