‘Tis the season to eat, drink, and be merry, but sometimes the festivities extend onto the road and the results can be deadly. In December 2008, there were 7,104 motor vehicle fatalities in the United States with 520 of them related to driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In the 1980s and 1990s there were significant declines in fatalities related to alcohol-impaired driving, but since 2005, the levels have risen. However, a new report from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that from 2007 to 2008 the alcohol-impaired-driving fatality rate declined in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

All U.S. states have a legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) standard of .08, but the penalties for drunk driving vary per state. Currently, 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, have license suspensions on the first offense, and 41 states (including D.C.) have stiffer penalties for higher BAC levels. Thirty-eight states, plus D.C., conduct sobriety checkpoints. Other states find checkpoints illegal under their state constitution.

While all the penalties listed above have helped, there has been little change in arrests since 2003. Among the enforcement challenges is that is it difficult to detect drivers under the influence, or to prevent them from trying to drive after they’re already imbibed. One idea that has caught on in some states is the use of ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers including first offenders. Currently, 12 states have mandatory or incentivized ignition interlocks that measure the driver’s breath for alcohol and prevents the engine from starting if a high level is determined. In a recent public telephone survey by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 84 percent of respondents supported putting the interlock devices in vehicles of convicted DWI offenders. These devices have been shown effective in reducing repeat offenders.