Almost 17,000 people died in alcohol-related crashes in
2005. That figure represents 39 percent of all traffic fatalities. In the U.S.,
between 250,000 and 300,000 people are seriously injured each year in
alcohol-related crashes. To continue with this strong message here are some
other disturbing facts:
- In 2005, of the 16,885 people who died in alcohol-related crashes, 14,539 (86%) were killed in crashes where at least one driver or nonoccupant has a BAC of .08% or more.
- Nationwide, 75 percent of all the people killed between the hours of midnight and three in the morning were killed in alcohol-related crashes, according to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Web-Based Encyclopedia 2005 Report.
- More than one-third (34 percent) of all pedestrians 16 years of age or older killed in traffic crashes in 2005 were intoxicated.
- In 2005, 21% of the children 0 to 14 years old were
killed in motor vehicle crashes were killed in alcohol-related
crashes.
(Statistics presented were found in The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's report titled, Traffic Safety Facts 2005: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System.)
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
-- Albert Einstein