The grant also provides funding for the use of an ignition interlock device which acts as a breathalyzer and requires the driver to blow into a mouthpiece to start the car. This money is being used to finance law enforcement training courses to better recognize the tell-tale signs of drunk driving. To combat alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, the NHTSA gave more than $100,000 to states last December through the Governors Highway Safety Association. “However, one thing to remember is, is still the number one killer on our roads that claims a little bit over 10,500 lives annually.”

“There has been a slight reduction in impaired driving-related fatalities across the nation,” said Larry Coggins, the regional director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. It is the lowest percentage since the administration started measuring alcohol-related vehicle deaths in 1982.īut even so, drunk driving crashes remain the biggest problem on American roads. The NHTSA report showed a 3.6% decrease in traffic fatalities involving drunk drivers nationwide. In 2017, 841 of the 3,116 deaths in vehicle accidents in the state involved alcohol.Īlcohol-impaired driving is considered any blood alcohol content over the legal limit of.

814 of those were caused by drunk driving.

While drunk driving deaths fell in the state of Florida last year, highway safety advocates are continuing to push for government funding for more prevention efforts.Īccording to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,133 people died in car accidents in Florida in 2018.

Drunk drivers killed in america