The recent, tragic news about an intoxicated woman who crashed her minivan in Westchester County, New York, and killed eight people has raised awareness of the effects of driving while under the influence. Toxicology reports found the woman had a blood alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than twice the legal limit, and traces of marijuana in her system, according to the New York Times.

In 2006, 13, 470 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes and these fatalities account for 32 percent of all motor vehicle crashes in the United States. That equates to one alcohol-related driving fatality every 39 minutes.

Alcohol involvement in crashes usually peaks at night and on weekends with a higher proportion of men ages 21-40 having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over the legal limit. All states have the 0.08 legal limit and minimum drinking age of 21.

Of the 1,800 children under 14 years old who were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2006, 17 percent occurred in drunk driving crashes.

Alcohol-related driving deaths decreased 34 percent from the 1980s through the mid-1990s, but progress has stalled and the rates have been relatively steady since then. The Centers for Disease Control lists a number of measures that have been effective in helping to prevent these crashes from occurring:

• Aggressively enforcing the BAC laws, minimum drinking age, and zero tolerance for under 21 drivers.
• Revoking licenses of people who drive drunk.
• Using sobriety checkpoints.
• Requiring treatment and assessment for offenders.
• Community drunk-driving education and prevention efforts.

Other CDC suggestions include reducing the minimum BAC level to 0.05 and raising alcohol taxes.

While the crash in Westchester is still under investigation and police are putting together the pieces, the fatal accident raises many questions as to how to prevent these needless tragedies from happening in the future.

—Liza Barth