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Contradictions: Why Do States With Highest Drinking Have The Safest Roads?

Agent009 submitted on 4/24/2008 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 1:14:10 PM

17 user comments | Category: Misc News | Source: | SOURCE: www.motorists.org

A new federal study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (part of the US Dept.

of Health and Human services) just confirmed that states with the highest levels of self-reported drinking and driving also have the safest highways.

The State of Wisconsin was the overall winner with more than 25 percent of its drivers reporting that in the previous year they had drank an alcoholic beverage before (or perhaps while) driving. This was more than twice the national rate!

Clearly, this is compelling evidence that action is needed, but not in Wisconsin.

The “facts” from this federally sponsored survey, when correlated with federally produced highway safety data, suggest that many more states should follow Wisconsin’s lead and increase their percentages of drinking drivers.



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Contradictions: Why Do States With Highest Drinking Have The Safest Roads?

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Agent009

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User Comments

GTR35

mmmmhhhhh BEER!!!!

— GTR35 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 1:43:31 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

EnnNorak

My personal experience (backed up by some studies) is that one or two regular-strength drinks actually improves driving. Excess drinking is dangerous. Legal blood alcohol levels are generally set on the low side to please the insurance industry and to make administration of the justice system easier. Each person is slightly different and heavier people can absorb more alcohol before becoming drunk. Some people metabolize alcohol faster than others. All excessive drinking seriously damages the liver and kills brain cells.

— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 6:08:12 PM | | Votes: 1   

Rupert

This study is seriously flawed - it does not take into account population density, cars per mile of road, average distances travelled by drivers - I'm not an expert on the US states but isn't Wisconsin seriously empty and flat?

What it should look at is the number of self-admitted drivers who drink and drive and then the number of accidents cause by drunkenness, rather than simply the number of accidents.

— Rupert (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 1:47:47 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

EnnNorak

If you drive on a long stretch of Montana with no other cars on the road as far as the eye can see, and if you have a tendency to get sleepy after several drinks, you may easily find yourself off the road or worse.

— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 6:10:10 PM | | Votes: 2   

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS

Typical Useless Study with Typical Useless results.

Density is more important when calculating ratios of Drivers/Accidents

If only 2000 people drive a particular stretch of 50 mile road a year even if they were all drunk im sure there would be less alcohol related acidents than the 20,000,000 people that drive the 50 mile stretch in another much more populated city even if everyone in the more populous city were stone cold sober.

— I95SPEEDINGTICKETS (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 2:26:07 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

NItePhire

I think the guy who wrote the article is even more useless than the survey. His sloppy report should be looking in the mirror.

— NItePhire (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 9:06:51 PM | | Votes: 1   

vladyxa

Just plain stupid...

— vladyxa (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 3:01:21 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

1000rrRider

I personally drive much better when I'm drink.. I'm a lot more cautious.

— 1000rrRider (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 3:26:28 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

minimalist

I hear its much safer to ride a motorcyle while intoxicated.

Do it.

— minimalist (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 3:47:13 PM | | Votes: 0   

0to60

1000, me too!

— 0to60 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 4:04:13 PM | | Votes: 1   

stevenv1999

It seems the point isn't just a flawed report, but how this information was reported. This is especially true of apathetic Americans that will automatically take this report out of context and far removed from it's true meaning. The thing that will most directly affect me (Being a Wisconsin resident)is our politicians will use this report as leverage to toughen already ridiculous laws that are trapping law abiding citizens with drunk driving laws that really do nothing in getting habitual drunk drivers off the streets. This type of law making punishes everyone for the courts and law enforcements failure to keep these people from driving dangerously drunk on our roads. Not to mention the fact that our governments have way too close of a relationship with insurance companies and they use this flawed data to set our car insurance rates or better yet they know it's flawed and use it as justification to raise our rates.

— stevenv1999 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 3:41:02 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

rocker

But this study was paid by the pork that slides thru Congress each year. This is your dollars at work. I would rather bitch about that than worry if I drank enough before I got behind the wheel.

— rocker (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 4:16:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

adamsaf723

LOL @ WISCONSIN

— adamsaf723 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 4:25:36 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

hatepusss

Because none of the drinkers has driver-license! :)

— hatepusss (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 4:58:30 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

t_bone

These are the states with the most honest self-reporting people, not the most drunk drivers.

— t_bone (View Profile)

Posted on 4/24/2008 8:14:55 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

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