No real surprise here, but analysts have revealed that New Years Day is officially the worst day for drunk driving accidents. That includes the time the countdown ends on New Years Eve, when drunk drivers start the New Year off in idiotic fashion by getting into their car.

Half the fatal crashes that occur on New Years Day involve a driver that was considered drunk according to an analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The analysis is the result of reviewing and averaging statistics from 2005-2009. The Fourth of July came in second while March 18th – St. Patrick’s Day – was third.

New Years Day is also the most hazardous day for pedestrians with an average of 22 deaths per year. Halloween is second with 20.

So to all those out celebrating tonight, make sure to have a dedicated driver, get a cab or just stay over.

[Source: New York Times]

It seems that retired racing legend Al Unser Jr. still likes to make headlines… but this time, it’s for all the wrong reasons. It’s been confirmed that the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner has been arrested on charges of drunken driving and reckless driving in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

According to Bernalillo County sheriff’s spokeswoman Jennifer Brown, Unser was arrested Thursday morning in Albuquerque, where he lives. The police pulled him over for drag racing in his Suburban – they clocked him going over 100 mph. Instead of a trophy and sponsorship endorsements, he was awarded charges of reckless driving and aggravated driving while intoxicated.

Unser was released from jail on his own recognizance. We will fill you in with more details as they become available.

[Source: AP]

Turns out that Jackass star Ryan Dunn, who recently died in a car accident, was drunk at twice the legal limit for alcohol when he crashed.

The toxicology report confirmed Twitter’s worst suspicions: police say that Drunn’s blood alcohol content was at 0.196, or twice of Pennsylvania’s 0.08 limit. No other drugs were found in his system.

Dunn had left a bar called Barnaby’s of America with passenger Zachary D. Hartwell, who was also killed when Dunn’s Porsche 911 GT3 slammed into a guardrail at over 130mph. A bar employee said that Dunn “didn’t seem intoxicated” at the time, though as we all know—that is never the case.

Always call a cab, kids.

[Source: Left Lane News]

The breathalyzer may become a thing of the past, thanks to new technology that can be installed in your car. And it’s not like you can fake your way around it, as it’s located in key components of your vehicle, like the steering wheel and door handles.

The court-ordered breathalyzers that can be used in cars now take time to work and they also need to be installed as an after-market component. With this new system, developed by a research company called QinetiQ and funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, the technology comes built-in to vehicles as they are made and are inconspicuous to the driver.

This new technology measures blood alcohol content in a driver’s finger tips with a new touch-based sensor that’s installed in the vehicle’s steering wheel or door handles. It’s super quick too, as it only takes less than a second to register the booze in a driver’s system. The technology could be available to automakers in eight to 10 years

“We believe this might turn the car into the cure for the elimination of drunk driving,” says Laura Dean-Mooney, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. But on the other side of the coin, there are those against the new technology. “For ordinary, law-abiding citizens, it’s an invasion of their privacy,” says Christen Varley, president of the Greater Boston Tea Party.

What do you think? Do you think this device will protect drivers or is it an invasion of privacy? Let us know in the comments section below.

[Source: Oh Gizmo]

Holiday party season is in full swing, and that means you may feel a bit more pressure to raise a glass of cheer to celebrate. It also means that drivers getting behind the wheel after a few too many is also on the rise, and a report out by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 30 million people will drive drunk in an average year while another 10 million get behind the wheel under the influence of drugs.

The study reveals that on average, 13.2 percent of all persons 16 or older drove under the influence of alcohol and 4.3 percent of this age group drove under the influence of illicit drugs in the past year. On a state-by-state analysis, the survey shows that the highest levels of past year drunk driving were Wisconsin (23.7 percent) and North Dakota (22.4 percent). For drugged driving, the highest rates of past year were found in Rhode Island (7.8 percent) and Vermont (6.6 percent). On the lower end of the scale, the states with the lowest rates of past year drunk driving included Utah (7.4 percent) and Mississippi (8.7 percent), while Iowa and New Jersey had the lowest levels of past year drugged driving (2.9 percent and 3.2 percent respectively).

When it comes to younger drives, the levels of self-reported drunk and drugged driving differed dramatically. Drivers aged 16 to 25 had a much higher rate of drunk driving than those 26 or older (19.5 percent versus 11.8 percent). And those in the younger age group also had a much higher rate of driving under the influence of drugs than those aged 26 or older (11.4 percent versus 2.8 percent).

It’s always great to get some good new regarding traffic. And this recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) falls into the good new category – they say that the number of fatalities on America’s highways is at its lowest level since 1950.

Compared to 2008, deaths caused by vehicle collisions fell by 9.2 percent last year. The fatality rate has dropped to 1.13 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled as of 2009. The NHTSA credits both seat-belt use and campaigns to combat drunk driving for the decline.

Also decreasing in numbers are motorcycle fatalities. The Detroit News reports that these types of accidents have decreased by 16 percent compared to 2009. This drop is the first to happen in over 10 years, but no one is quite sure why that is.

Even though those numbers look pretty good, the NHTSA thinks we can still do better. In 2009, more than 30,000 people died and over 2.4 million people were injured in traffic collisions. There’s always room for improvement.

[Source: Detroit News and Automotive News]

Hale, UK Police seized this yellow Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII after its driver was stopped for “driving erratically” and arrested for DUI. Normal police procedure, in the UK requires the officers wait for a transporter to tow a seized car to impound, but not this time. The two officers decided to drive the car themselves, and, well, the photos show what happened next.

The officer behind the wheel lost control at what appears to be very high speed, and ended up rolling the car on a local man’s lawn. One of the officers suffered minor injuries, and clearly their superiors will be launching an investigation into their behavior. Evo carnage gallery after the jump:

[Source: BBC via Redliners]

[Photo Credit: LancerRegister]

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We’re all a little sad to see the end of summer. We usually send it off with a long weekend, lots of backyard BBQs and a few pool parties. Since most of these types of shindigs involve alcohol, there’s always an increased risk of intoxicated drivers on the road. That’s why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has started their drunk driving campaign called “Over the limit. Under arrest.”

On now until September 6th, you’ll see an increase presence of police enforcement officers and checkpoints on the road, as well as TV and radio campaigns to warn drivers of the risks.

This annual NHTSA operation began in 2003 and has helped reduce drunk-driving accidents and fatalities. Although the numbers have dropped since 1994, alcohol-related crashes continue to be responsible for about a third of all vehicle deaths. The numbers are startling – in 2008, about 12,000 people (32 percent) of all fatal crashes were caused by drivers of vehicles or motorcycles who had a blood-alcohol-content of at or above the legal limit of .08 percent. The highest percentage of deaths from drunk driving is those 21 to 24 years old.

The campaign to bring awareness to the seriousness of drunk driving has stepped up their efforts this year. Last month, New York State instituted a law that requires all drunk driving offenders to use interlock devices before they can start their car. And, the ROAD SAFE Act (Research of Alcohol Detection Systems for Stopping Alcohol-Related Fatalities Everywhere) was introduced by members of Congress, which will fund the development of new in-vehicle technologies to prevent under-the-influence drivers from operating a vehicle.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Seriously, how can we live in a country where this can happen? Last Saturday, Jonathan Schoenakase of Quincy, Illinois was arrested for operating the pictured vehicle, a courtesy shuttle home from local bars to keep drunk drivers off the road. Sounds like a good idea, right? Well, local taxi companies lobbied to make it illegal.

Jonathan’s friend was killed by a drunk driver in 2009, and as a way to keep drunks off the road, he started offering rides home. The rides were free, although he would accept tips. The business soon grew, adding a second car, and then the bus. Taxi companies, thinking Jonathan was taking their money, lobbied that he was operating a Taxi service without a license, and won. The Quincy Government removed the words “for hire” from its definitions of the words “Taxi Service,” thus eliminating the loophole under which Schoenakase was operating.

Schoenakase has applied for a license, but the local cops say he needs to clear up some “legal issues” before he is approved. He has continued to offer the service during this time, and has been arrested a total of three times for his efforts.

We understand the law is the law, but how can one guy, with one bus, driving drunks home as a tribute to his friend and saving countless lives in the process, get arrested repeatedly? How can a politician, or series of politicians, be corrupted so badly by local businesses that charity becomes illegal?

The worst part? A taxi license in Quincy, Illinois costs $10. No, really.

The government is cracking down on people who drink and drive with an auto industry program that is in process of developing an in-car device that detects drunken drivers. This tool will be installed in all new vehicles, and is set to receive a six-fold increase in the annual funding.

The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety program’s budget receives $2 million per year, but is set to increase to $12 million for the next five years. This in-car device will automatically sniff the driver’s breath or use a light beam to test the alcohol content of tissue, in effect preventing a drunk driver from starting the vehicle.

The installation of such a device could potentially save thousands. Based on 2008 stats, almost 12,000 people died in alcohol-impaired car crashes. This tool wouldn’t be mandatory, but the safety advantages would be a definite asset to the list of new car perks. Thirteen automakers are already onboard with the project, who are sure that drivers will want to voluntarily add the mechanism to their vehicles as an added safety measure. Having one of these devices installed would hopefully mean that drivers would pay lower insurance rates.

Susan Ferguson, program director for Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, is optimistic about the new device and suggests that it could save 8,000 to 9,000 lives per year. “I think it is equivalent to the next seat belt,” she said. “It could make a huge difference in highway safety.”

Would you ever consider adding this alcohol-detecting device in your new car? Leave your comments below.

[Source: NYT]