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Women and the bottle leading to more DUI's
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It is safe to say that being a smart drinker is something everyone is individually responsible for.
That being said, a new report says that women in the U.S. are consuming more alcohol, and drunken-driving arrests among females are rising rapidly while declining among men.
While men still consume more alcohol than women and are responsible for a greater number of drunken-driving cases, the gap is shortening.
Among the reasons noted for the tightening numbers are that women are experiencing more pressures at work and home, they are driving more miles behind the wheel, and they are finding ways to behave more recklessly.
According to FBI statistics, the number of women taken into custody in the U.S. for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was 28.8 percent greater just two years ago than it was in 1998, while the number of men apprehended was 7.5 percent lower, according to figures that cover some 56 percent of the country.
Here in California, based on the same FBI statistics, women accounted for 18.8 percent of all DUI arrests in 2007, an increase from 13.5 percent nearly a decade earlier, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.
One federal study showed that the number of women who admitted to abusing alcohol (having at least four drinks in a 24-hour period) increased from 1.5 percent to 2.6 percent over a 10-year period that ceased in 2002. For women ages 30 to 44, the number were more than double, from 1.5 percent to 3.3 percent.
According to California Highway Patrol figures, here in San Diego County, 18-24 year old females driving under the influence who were responsible for fatal or injury related crashes grew 124%, from 49 to 110 accidents over the last decade. Of those between 18 and 20 years of age, the figure doubled to 100.
According to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), there is some good news on the drunk driving front.
New fatality data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) indicates that drunk driving fatalities overall declined 9.7% with 11,773 in 2008 and 13,041 deaths in 2007. According to DOT, “the number of overall traffic fatalities reported in 2008 hit their lowest level since 1961 with 37,261 deaths and that fatalities in the first three months of 2009 continue to decrease.
The bottom line as first noted is that both men and women need to think responsibly before having a drink and then getting behind the wheel.
The impact a drunk driving accident can have on both the driver and innocent victims can be tremendous. According to a 2009 Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation report, alcohol-related traffic crashes cost Americans nearly $130 billion.
While the dollar figures are staggering, injuries or the loss of life cannot be measured in dollars and cents.
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