Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007

Stay sober and safe

The numbers for 2007 aren't in, but authorities in California and across the country know that drivers impaired by alcohol and-or drugs cause thousands of deaths and injuries each year.

In 2006, 1,597 people were killed and 31,099 were injured in alcohol-related crashes in California. Authorities arrested 197,248 people on suspicion of driving under the influence, an 8 percent increase from 2005.

In Stanislaus County, 25 people died and 414 were injured. That compared with 48 deaths and 694 injuries in San Joaquin County. Merced County had 14 deaths and 232 injuries. Seven people died in Tuolumne County and 79 were injured, and three people died and 22 were injured in Mariposa County.

Here are a few things people in California should know when considering whether to drink and drive:

• A driving under the influence charge in California can cost $5,200 to $10,000, including vehicle towing and storage, increased auto insurance premiums, fines, court assessments, DUI classes, attorneys' fees and more.

• The average person convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol had a blood-alcohol content level of 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit.

• 51 percent of fatal crashes involving drivers with a blood-alcohol content level of 0.08 percent or greater occurred between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

• The average alcohol-related death in California costs $3.8 million, including $1 million in monetary costs and $2.8 million in quality-of-life losses.

• The estimated cost per injured survivor of an alcohol-related crash averaged $115,000: $55,000 in monetary costs and $60,000 in quality-of-life losses.

• Alcohol-related crashes accounted for an estimated 20 percent of California's auto insurance payments. Reducing alcohol-related crashes by 10 percent could save $300 million in claims payments and loss-adjustment expenses.

• Nationally, there were 17,602 alcohol-related fatalities in 2006, an increase from 17,590 in 2005.

• Alcohol-related vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and injure someone every two minutes.

• In 2006, 42 percent of all fatal crashes during the week were alcohol-related, compared with 58 percent on weekends.

• Drivers with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or greater who were involved in fatal crashes were eight times more likely than drivers who weren't under the influence to have had a prior conviction for driving while impaired.