drunk driving

Emergency workers work the scene of a fatal car accident in August 2021 in Tulsa, Okla. Nearly 43,000 people died in U.S. traffic crashes in 2021, with deaths due to speeding and impaired or distracted driving on the rise.

Distraction, speeding and alcohol contribute to a 16-year high in traffic deaths

2:11pm April 03, 2023

by The Associated Press

The 2021 numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed earlier estimates showing a 10.5% increase in deaths over 2020. The 43,000 deaths were the highest total since 2005.

A large study by U.S. highway safety regulators found that more than half the people injured or killed in traffic crashes had one or more drugs or alcohol in their bloodstreams.

Over half of car crash victims had drugs or alcohol in their systems, a study says

4:31pm December 13, 2022

by The Associated Press

Although the study authors say the results can't be used to gauge drug use on the roads nationwide, the high number of drivers, passengers and others with drugs in their systems is concerning.

A row of crosses form a memorial along Highway 33 as police officers survey the scene a day after a crash killed nine people south of Coalinga, Calif., on Jan. 2, 2021.

National

The NTSB wants all new vehicles to check drivers for alcohol use

5:50pm September 20, 2022

by The Associated Press

The safety board recommends all new vehicles be required to have systems that can stop an intoxicated person from driving. A final decision is up to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Car keys are shown by glasses with alcohol in this stock photo illustration. Companies are developing technology that would allow cars to stop people from driving when drunk.

Health & Safety

What if cars could stop you from driving drunk? A peek at the latest tech

7:01am December 31, 2021

by Camila Domonoske

A new federal law will eventually require new vehicles to detect and prevent drunk driving, which would revolutionize vehicle safety. Here's a look at some of the technology being developed.

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The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety Program seeks to develop devices that will automatically detect when a driver is intoxicated with a blood-alcohol concentration over the legal limit.

Politics & Government

A Push To Have Cars Say 'No' To Drunk Drivers

7:28pm October 21, 2019

by Vanessa Romo

All new autos would be outfitted with alcohol detection technology, under legislation being proposed by U.S. lawmakers. That would make it impossible to drive if you're over the limit.

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A fridge holds Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser and Grupo Modelo's Corona Light beers. Lawmakers are touting craft breweries as the winners from the tax cuts, but public health officials are concerned about lost tax revenues and rising public costs.

Health Experts Worry Brewer Tax Cuts May Increase Costs To Nondrinkers

1:37pm January 09, 2018

by Emily Sullivan

Supporters of a tax cut for beer brewers say it will boost jobs. Critics say it will reduce tax revenues that offset the costs of excessive drinking, related to health problems and drunken driving.

Although consuming cannabis is legal in Colorado and several other states, driving while under the influence of the drug is not.

Scientists Still Seek A Reliable DUI Test For Marijuana

6:11pm August 06, 2017

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Coloradans can get arrested for driving while stoned. But with no good roadside tools, officers' determinations are more subjective than for alcohol DUIs. Scientists hope to find chemical markers.

Public safety experts and advocates disagree about what conclusions can be drawn from data on the presence of alcohol or other drugs in the bodies of people involved in deadly crashes.

Measuring Drug Impairment In Drivers Is Easier Said Than Done

2:56pm May 05, 2017

by Katherine Hobson

A report on the potential influence of alcohol or drug impairment on traffic fatalities points to the difficulty of comparing alcohol impairment standards to other drugs.

Drivers distracted by their devices are a well-documented, rising cause of traffic crashes, but there are a growing number of pedestrians, too, who can become oblivious to traffic around them.

National

Distraction, On Street And Sidewalk, Helps Cause Record Pedestrian Deaths

9:51am March 31, 2017

by David Schaper

The number of pedestrians killed in traffic jumped 11 percent in 2016, the highest year-over-year increase — in terms of percentage and total number of fatalities — since data has been collected.

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The highly rated variety of medical marijuana known as "Blue Dream" was displayed among other strains at a cannabis farmers market in Los Angeles in 2014.

Marijuana's Health Effects? Top Scientists Weigh In

7:40pm January 12, 2017

by Patti Neighmond

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine sorted through 10,000 studies to determine the good and bad health effects of marijuana. Tight drug restrictions impede research, they say.

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