If 1,569 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), 1,569 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in Texas in 2006, and more than 63, 500 people were injured.   The percentage of crashes which are alcohol-related in Texas (45%) is far above the national average (39%). For more statistics go to: www.madd.org

For a closer look at state-by-state comparisons , you may want to visit the NHTSA website.

For a closer look at statistics in a particular county , you may want to visit NHTSA State Statistics
or enter this link: http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/finalreport.cfm?year=2006&stateid=48&title=States&title2=Alcohol&SpecialRpt=query1

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/