News / Health & Wellness
DUI’s Down - Finally
Rates of driving under the influence are lower, but the problem is far from solved.
A recent study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that 10 million people drive under the influence of drugs annually. SAMHSA, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, found that 13.2 percent of all persons 16 or older drove under the influence of alcohol and 4.3 percent of this age group drove under the influence of illicit drugs in the past year.
Drunk Driving Stats are Down
Maybe the public service announcements are finally sinking in or friends really are refusing to let friends drive drunk, but the number of people who have driven while impaired is down. Before we start celebrating, though, it’s important to note that the same new government survey that shows drunk or drugged driving is on the decline, also reports that 30 million people still drive drunk in an average year.
Both figures are a drop from recent years. Between 2002 and 2005, the rate of people driving drunk was 14.6 percent, and those driving drugged was 4.8 percent during the same period, the agency said. The survey also provides a state-by-state tally of drunk and drugged driving. Wisconsin topped the list of drunk driving at 23.7 percent, and North Dakota was second with 22.4 percent. Drugged driving rates were highest in Rhode Island (7.8 percent) and Vermont (6.6 percent). Utah and Mississippi had the lowest rate of drunk driving while Iowa and New Jersey had the lowest rate of drugged driving, the agency found. The agency surveyed more than 400,000 people to get its results.
Addiction Rehab
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