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Notice to Readers: National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month
--- December 2001
December has been designated by Presidential proclamation as National
Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month (3D Month). 3D Month is supported by
many public and private sector organizations devoted to preventing impaired
driving crashes. During 2000, alcohol-related motor-vehicle crashes resulted in 16,653
deaths in the United States (1). On the basis of data provided by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (1) and the U.S. Bureau of the Census
(2), the rate of alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 2000 was 5.9 per 100,000 persons. One of
the national health objectives for 2010 is a target for alcohol-related traffic fatalities of
no more than 4.0 per 100,000 persons (objective 26-1A)
(3). To meet this objective, the annual rate of alcohol-related traffic fatalities must decline by 32%.
CDC recently concluded a systematic review of the effectiveness of
five community-based interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving:
sobriety checkpoints; 0.08% blood alcohol concentration laws; minimum legal drinking
age laws; "zero tolerance" laws for young or inexperienced drivers; and
server intervention training programs*. All five interventions showed evidence
of effectiveness (4) and each was recommended for implementation by the Task
Force on Community Preventive Services (5,6), an independent, nonfederal panel
of community-health consultants. Broader use of such strategies will be
necessary to achieve the 2010 objective of reducing alcohol-related traffic fatalities.
The theme for this year's 3D Month is "This holiday season…the greatest gift
you can give may be a ride home." The 3D Month program planner, which contains
sample public service announcements, media tool kits, and program guidance for
conducting 3D Month activities, is available from NHTSA at <http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov> or on
CD-ROM, by faxing a request to 301-386-2194.
References
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic safety facts 2000:
alcohol. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 2001; publication no.
DOT-HS-809-323.
US Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy people 2010 (conference ed.,
2 vols). Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, 2000.
Shults RA, Elder RW, Sleet DA, et al. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions
to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. Am J Prev Med 2001;21(4S):66--88.
Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Recommendations to reduce injuries
to motor vehicle occupants: increasing child safety seat use, increasing safety belt
use, and reducing alcohol-impaired driving. Am J Prev Med 2001;21(4S):16--22.
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Health and Human Services.
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Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites.
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