Incidence Of Fatal Drunk Driving Accidents Higher Among Younger Drivers

Incidence Of Fatal Drunk Driving Accidents Higher Among Younger Drivers

Tragically, last December, an Orange County father and son were killed in a suspected DUI crash. The father, Steven Uselton, 44, was driving with his son, Douglas, 17, in Buena Park when 18-year-old Angel Lopez, of Anaheim, struck their vehicle in the intersection of Knott and Crescent Avenues after speeding through a red light. They were pronounced dead at the scene. After Lopez was released from the hospital, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. While the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities tends to increase around the holidays, younger drivers account for a high proportion of them year-round, explains an Orange County injury lawyer.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, close to 1200 deaths occurred on our highways during the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve in 2009. This is one reason that December is National Drunk and Drugged Prevention Month. Although some long holiday weekends such as Memorial Day and Fourth of July have higher weekend totals, this party-filled season is plagued by alcohol-related injuries and fatalities.

While NHTSA statistics indicate that drunk drivers hail from all age groups, ethnicities, and demographics, drivers between the ages of 21-34 were involved in 65% of the fatal auto accidents involving alcohol. Moreover drivers under 21 accounted for another 17%.

Officials throughout the country have been investigating new approaches for anti-drinking and driving campaigns targeting these age groups. Social networking websites, along with applications for Smartphones, such as the iPhone, seem to be the latest in technological tools. Apps like "R-U-Buzzed, "Last Call," and "buzz-o-meter" all utilize data from the user like alcohol consumed, weight, gender, age, and consumption time. One app, called "Last Call," will even notify taxis in the user's area, explains an Orange County injury lawyer.

While this new technology is innovative and possibly even helpful, drinking while driving is still a problem. Social networking can be counteractive since many youth use Twitter and Facebook to post alerts of DUI checkpoints. It is everyone's responsibility to prevent drunken friends from driving.

The effects of alcohol vary depending on multiple factors, including height and weight. However, research indicates that for anyone, alcohol can decrease alertness and reaction time, which are essential to safely operating a motor vehicle.

If you have driven the freeways around Orange County lately, you have probably seen the Caltrans signs that read "Report Drunk Drivers. Call 911." Nationwide, efforts to prevent drunk driving have increased. Recently, the installation of an ignition interlock device in ones vehicle became mandatory for first-time and repeat DUI offenders in four California counties: Alameda, Los Angeles, Tulare, and Sacramento. In addition, eleven states, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, require all DUI offenders to install one.

In Buena Park, where a drunk driver recently killed Steve Uselton and his son, the Orange County Register reported that the police department recently received a $200,000 federal grant from the state Office of Transportation Safety; the money will be used for DUI and driver's-license checkpoints.
Such effortsin addition to social media campaigns and cell phone appswill hopefully deter younger drivers from taking the wheel while intoxicated.

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