As the temperatures spike and we head into the dog days of summer, we’re all trying to escape the heat by heading out on the water or to the nearest concert, water park or outdoor celebration. Unfortunately, this also means the likelihood of sharing the road with a drunk driver, or even getting behind the wheel buzzed yourself, sky rockets.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s statistics, holiday weekends, such as last weekend’s Fourth of July, are some of the most dangerous times of the year to drive. The NHTSA has reported that in 2011 there were 3, 016 total traffic fatalities in Texas and 1,213, or 40%, of those were a result of drunk driving. Previous years have similar numbers with most years having more than 3,000 traffic fatalities and 35-40% of those fatalities associated with drunk driving.
In 2011, 161 of those fatalities—more than ten percent of the people killed in drunk driving crashes—were killed during the July 4th weekend alone. In fact, the Fourth of July weekend has repeatedly been one of the most dangerous times of year, often having more traffic fatalities nationally then even New Years. While there has been a slow but steady decline in the total number of traffic fatalities and the number of fatalities associated with drunk driving since 2006, the numbers are still staggeringly high.
Ending this week, the Texas Department of Public Safety used a ten day period of heightened intoxicated driving enforcement to deter drinking and getting behind the wheel. Last year, DPS attributed an over 30 percent increase in arrests over the Fourth of July weekend to the increased patrols. By all accounts, the Department expects similar result this year. The Department hopes that the increased patrol will deter citizens from drinking and driving and that those who do drink and drive will be arrested before causing a wreck.
