Slow Progress on Drunks

There has been progress in reducing drunk driving and related fatal traffic accidents, but “the drunk-driving campaign is far from over,” according to the annual report of the National Commission Against Drunk Driving.

No state has adopted all 19 legislative remedies recommended by the commission. California has adopted 13, but has yet to implement such proposals as administrative pickup of offending drivers’ licenses, preliminary breath tests at the site of arrest, exclusion of plea bargaining in cases involving driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and mandatory first-offense license suspension, the commission noted.

There has been an 11% reduction in alcohol-related fatalities since 1982, with polls showing an increasing number of persons refusing all alcohol when they drive. But the safety record would have been better had more people used seat belts and observed the 55-m.p.h. speed limit. Seat-belt use increased from 23% in the last six months of 1985 to 32% in the first six months of 1986, according to a 19-city survey. But respect of the 55-m.p.h. speed limit declined in recent years, with more than 43% of the cars exceeding the national limit in 1985.

Commission members have concluded that the enforcement records, despite the increased risks of arrest, leave many drinkers convinced “that the state is not serious about keeping them off the road after their arrests.” That attitude invites a new commitment to change the impression of drunk drivers about just how serious society is in grounding them.