Drunken drivers as deadly as ever

Boozing at wheel takes same share of highway deaths

Julie Poppen, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 6, 2007 at midnight

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The percentage of traffic deaths tied to alcohol abuse in Colorado remained the same over the past two years - despite a drop in the number of people killed on the state's roads and highways.

Traffic accidents claimed the lives of 535 people last year, down 12 percent from the previous year.

Yet the percentage of fatalities involving alcohol was 42 percent in 2005 and 2006, according to recent numbers released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"It should be unsettling to all motorists to see that percentage," AAA Colorado spokesman Eric Escudero said Tuesday.

Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Heather Halpape shared Escudero's sentiment, calling the 42 percent figure "very concerning."

"We can only do so much as far as improvement to engineering and safer cars," Halpape said. "When it comes to alcohol-related crashes, we're going to have trouble lowering the overall traffic fatality number if we can't get more people to not get behind the wheel after they've been drinking."

More miles traveled

The number of traffic fatalities that involved a driver with a blood alcohol level above 0.08 percent - the legal limit for drunken driving - dropped 14 percent, from 206 to 177.

That's the good news in the numbers, especially considering that Colorado drivers are logging more miles than ever.

The number of vehicle miles traveled in Colorado has steadily increased since at least 1988, despite higher gasoline prices in recent years.

CDOT spokeswoman Stacey Stegman credited seat-belt use and aggressive advertising campaigns aimed at improving traffic safety for the decline in traffic deaths.

In addition, the federal government now provides money for advertising for traffic safety campaigns such as the recently concluded Heat Is On, a national program that targets drunken driving during holiday weekends.

Last year's Labor Day Heat Is On campaign in Colorado netted 1,969 arrests, up from 1,811 in 2005. Some 1,647 arrests were made this year, according to preliminary figures.

Colorado State Patrol Master Trooper Ron Watkins said officers are also targeting aggressive and inattentive drivers, especially those using cell phones, eating sandwiches or text messaging.

"Officers are picking up more of these people before they crash, which is saving lives," Watkins said.

But Watkins could not explain why the percentage of alcohol-related crashes has remained level.

Living with the loss

For those who have experienced the devastating effects of a drunken driver, statistics provide little comfort.

Julie Holiday's husband Jon, an Adams County sheriff's deputy, was killed by a drunken driver on June 6, 2005.

Now, the 36-year-old mother of two is struggling to make ends meet. She is in the midst of moving into a more affordable house in Northglenn.

"I wish it would stop, but it doesn't seem to," Holiday said. "I don't know if anything stops drunk driving."

Painful memories came buzzing back three weeks ago when 10-year-old Cole Collins was killed by a drunken driver in front of her home.

Melvyn Saunders, 57, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for taking the deputy's life. Saunders' blood alcohol level was 0.30 percent, nearly four times the legal limit.

"It affects every person in one form or another. Unfortunately, it affected our family in a big way . . . I just wish people would think before they get behind the wheel."

Nationally, the number of people killed in accidents involving at least one legally drunk driver dropped less than 1 percentage point in 2006.

The 13,582 people killed in drunken driving crashes in 2005 across the country marked the highest number since 1993, when 13,739 people were killed.

As in previous years, males made up a majority of the drunken drivers involved in fatal crashes - in 2006 it was 81 percent. The number of female drivers involved in fatal wrecks who blew a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level or higher increased 9 percent in 2006.

Not much has changed

Percentage of total traffic fatalities that are alcohol-related in Colorado:

1996: 43

1997: 38

1998: 40

1999: 38

2000: 39

2001: 45

2002: 43

2003: 40

2004: 40

2005: 42