Nearly 300,000 incidents of drinking and driving occurred each day in the U.S. in 2010. Alcohol-impaired drivers are involved in about 1 in 3 crash deaths, resulting in nearly 11,000 deaths in 2009. Startling stats for sure--and they point to the danger we all potentially face each time we get into a vehicle.“Drunk driving is a public health problem with far–reaching effects,” says CDC's Linda Degutis, Dr.P.H., M.S.N., who is director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. “Drunk drivers, who have delayed reaction times and reflexes, put even the most responsible drivers and pedestrians in harm’s way."
CDC covers the problem in the October 2011 issue of Vital Signs, which presents data from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey. The report also suggests some strategies for states, employers, health professionals and the general public to combat drunk driving.