SMYRNA, Ga. – Authorities in Georgia and across the country are launching an aggressive crackdown against drunken driving.
“Drunk driving is deadly, it’s against the law and unfortunately, it’s still a problem,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a news release. “With the help of law enforcement around the country, we are going to continue doing all that we can to stop drunk driving and the needless tragedies that result from this reckless behavior.”
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that eight percent of all drivers – or roughly 17 million people – have driven while intoxicated at least one time during the past year. At the same time, four out of five people say drunken driving is a “major threat” to their safety and the safety of their family.
“The sad fact is three-out-of-ten of our fatal highway crashes in Georgia each year are caused by impaired drivers. And every one of those tragic alcohol-related deaths is completely preventable,” Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Director Bob Dallas said in a news release. “Impaired driving is no ‘accident’: It’s one of America’s most often-committed and deadliest crimes. Imagine the public outrage if twenty-nine jumbo jets — each carrying about 400 people — crashed every year in America, killing all on board. That’s the equivalent of the death toll our country suffers due to drunk driving each year.”