Drunk Driving Declines But Rates Remain “Unacceptable”

According to an NPR blog entry, newly released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics indicate that last year, Americans took to the road 112 million times after drinking too much.

Although this number is high, it actually declined 30 percent since peaking at 161 million in 2006.

Men, especially those under age 35, account for a disproportionate amount of these incidents. More than four out of five incidents involve men and 32% of them involve men ages 21 to 34.

The CDC reports that between 2006 and 2009, annual alcohol-impaired fatalities declined 20%. But, this decline may also be attributed to other factors such as increased airbags or fewer repeat offenders.