Honolulu has low DUI fatality rate
By Larry Bivins
Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON — Efforts to lower blood-alcohol limits nationwide could get a boost from a report to be released today that shows cities with the strictest alcohol regulations and toughest enforcement of alcohol-related violations had the lowest rates of drunken-driving fatalities.
Louisiana State University researchers examined the alcohol-related traffic fatality data of 106 cities in 38 states that participate in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Ninety-seven cities responded to a questionnaire seeking additional information.
"It's wonderful news that Honolulu is doing so well," said Connie Abram, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Hawai'i. "But we can't rest on our laurels. We must be attentive to community needs and innovative in education, prevention, legislation and enforcement."
Abram said she thought the sobriety check points have had a strong deterrent value as well as serving as a means of educating the public about the dangers of drinking and driving.
She complimented the Honolulu Police Department, the liquor commission, the Health Department and the Department of Transportation for working to keep traffic fatalities low.
The study, financed by RAND Corp., will be published in the February issue of Preventive Medicine.
Nationally, alcohol is to blame for more than 40 percent of urban traffic fatalities, according to the report. But the study found cities with the most of 20 key regulations governing alcohol sales and consumption had the lowest fatality rate.
"Cities and states that today do not control access to alcohol, are not careful about to whom they provide alcohol licenses, do not enforce DUI laws with sobriety checks, and do not enforce penalties on violations of liquor laws may be unnecessarily jeopardizing the lives of their citizens," said Deborah Cohen, an author of the report.
NHTSA Administrator Jeff Runge said the study is further evidence that the enforcement of sound laws is a highly effective strategy to reduce alcohol-related deaths on the nation's roadways.
"Especially notable is the study's finding that sobriety checkpoints are a strong deterrent to combat drunk driving," Runge said.
One of the research team's recommendations calls for establishing blood-alcohol content levels of 0.08, the standard Congress set two years ago at which a driver would be considered intoxicated.
Federal lawmakers set a Sept. 30, 2003, deadline for states to make the change, offering a share of $500 million as an incentive for states to adopt the new limit before the deadline. As of June 1, 24 states and the District of Columbia had changed their laws, the traffic safety administration said, Hawai'i included.
Cohen said the study found that the tougher the alcohol-control policies, the fewer the fatalities.
