Impaired driving on the decline, but rises during holidays

Fewer people in the area are driving while drunk or high, but safety experts say it still happens too often, especially during the holiday season. In the District, 13.1 percent of people 16 and older reported having driven under the influence of alcohol in the past year, according to data collected from 2006 to 2009 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Five percent reported having driven while high.

Those numbers are down from the 15.7 percent of people who drove drunk and the 5.6 percent who drove drugged from 2002 to 2005, according to a SAMHSA report to be released Thursday.

The SAMHSA survey found that 10.7 percent of Marylanders drove drunk and 3.7 percent drove high from 2006 to 2009. In Virginia, 13.2 percent of people drove drunk and 4.3 percent drove high.

“We saw some decreases in the percent of people who reported drinking and driving, but that’s still pretty heavy,” said Peter Delany, director of SAMHSA’s Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality.

Nationwide, the percent of people who said they drove while intoxicated was 13.2 percent for 2006 to 2009, a drop from 14.6 percent in the 2002-to-2005 data.

Delaney said services that provide rides for impaired drivers and education campaigns from groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving have helped reduce the number of intoxicated drivers on the roads.

But people are especially likely to drive after a few drinks during the holiday season, experts said.

“People tend to relax and let up and aren’t as strict with themselves,” said Robert McKinney, president of the Maryland Highway Safety Foundation.

He said drivers often don’t know how quickly their reflexes are affected by alcohol.

“A lot of people don’t realize that their senses can be impaired with that first drink,” McKinney said.

Several local police agencies are trying to curb drunken driving as the holidays approach. In a roaming DUI enforcement initiative last weekend, Alexandria police arrested five drivers for drunken driving.

And on Saturday, Arlington County police will conduct a sobriety checkpoint and begin adding extra DUI patrols.

The most effective way to prevent impaired driving is to plan ahead and make arrangements for a designated driver, public transit or a cab, said Wynne Reece of Drive Smart Virginia.

“The important thing is to make a plan and stick to it,” she said.

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