If 1,292 people died tomorrow, would you notice?

Drunk driving is the most frequently committed violent crime in our country. And, in Texas, this crime is committed more frequently than in any other state. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 1,292 people died in alcohol-related crashes in Texas in 2007.   The percentage of crashes which are alcohol-related in Texas is far above the national average. For more statistics go to: www.madd.org.

Regionally (as identified by MADD Texas; see "Home" page) the 1,292 drunk driving fatalities in Texas in 2007 break down as follows:
State/Central Texas Region = 136 (11%)
East Texas Region = 252 (20%)
North Texas Region = 277 (21%)
South Texas Region = 237 (18%)
Southeast Texas Region = 234 (18%)
West Texas Region = 156 (12%)
 
You can find county specific information at http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesAlcohol.aspx .

Underage Drinking Statistics

In Texas:
Texas ranks #1 in the country for alcohol-related traffic fatalities (NHTSA, 2006).
Underage drinking costs the state of Texas over $5.5 billion a year.  This includes expenses such as medical costs, property damage, loss of life, fetal alcohol syndrome, and cost of treatment for alcohol-related medical problems (Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 2003). 
Kids have their first drink at 12.4 years of age (DSHS Texas School Survey on Substance Abuse Among Students Grades 7-12, 2004). 
24 percent of high school seniors said they drove a car after having several drinks at least once during the past year, representing 80,000 impaired drivers on Texas roads annually (DSHS Texas School Survey on Substance Abuse Among Students Grades 7-12, 2004). 
About 10 percent of secondary students said they attended class drunk at least once during the past school year(DSHS Texas School Survey on Substance Abuse Among Students Grades 7-12, 2004).

Nationwide:
Youth who start drinking before age 21 are almost twice as likely to become alcohol dependent or alcoholics later in life (Hingson et al, 2003). 
Advertisers spent roughly $5.37 billion dollars on advertising and promotions in 2003. 
823 lives were saved in 2005 by the 21 minimum drinking age law
95% of adults who are classified as having alcohol dependence or abuse in the past year started drinking before age 21. 
3,467 15-20 year olds died in alcohol related crashes in 2005.

If you would like more information or statistics on alcohol use amongst Texas teens:
The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse
www.camy.org,
http://www.ama-assn.org/,
www.collegedrinkingprevention.org
http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/