Study Shows Drunk-Driving Deaths Under-Reported in the U.S.

Driving under the influence of alcohol can increase the risk of death for the driver, passengers and nearby cars. Though the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) level to drive under is 0.08, those 21 and up behind the wheel at a higher BAC may have to deal with the consequences of a DUI and even jail time, depending on who was harmed if any accidents took place. Drunk driving accident lawyers Jacoby and Meyers state that according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 28% of all fatal traffic accidents nationwide are the result of drunk driving.

Yet a recent report shows that the dangers of drunk driving are often under-reported. Furthermore, the role of alcohol in traffic deaths within the United States is not always taken into account based on certain statistics.

According to lead study author Ralph Hingson, Sc.D., of the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, he worked with I-Jen Castle, Ph.D., in examining the number of traffic deaths related to drunk driving.

For the study, researchers analyzed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's database, otherwise known as the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). This system provided information on the blood alcohol content of the people killed in traffic crashes, showing that roughly 70 percent of all drivers throughout the country are tested for BAC levels shortly following an accident.

In fact, they discovered that from 1999 to 2009, death certificates did not accurately represent the role that alcohol played in certain traffic deaths. Furthermore, they found that just a little over three percent of the death certificates had even listed alcohol.

The study authors believe that one reason alcohol is often not included on death certificates is because of the amount of time between a BAC test, the accident and time of death. And though a death certificate is typically filed within three to five days, test results may take longer than that.

However, researchers continue to stress the importance of assessing impact policies that could potentially lower alcohol-related deaths as well as substance abuse.

"You want to know how big the problem is, and if we can track it," Hingson said, via a press release. "Is it going up, or going down? And what policy measures are working?"

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.