Significant Drop Is Reported in Drunken Driving-Related Deaths

ATLANTA —  Alcohol-related crashes in the U.S. that resulted in death have fallen significantly in the last 20 years, with the largest decreases involving drivers under age 21, federal health officials said Thursday.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fatal crashes in which drivers had blood alcohol levels of 0.01% or greater fell 46% among all ages from 1982 to 2001. The agency credited stricter drunken driving laws and driver licensing programs, among other factors.

The agency said fatal drinking-related crash rates fell 60% among drivers ages 16 to 17, the biggest decrease for all age groups. Crash rates fell 55% for drivers ages 18 to 20, and 41% for motorists ages 21 to 24. Among drivers age 25 and older, the crash rates fell 39%.

Car crashes are the leading cause of death among people ages 16 to 24, and a substantial number involve alcohol, the CDC said. There were 17,448 U.S. alcohol-related deaths in 2001, down from 26,173 in 1982, it said.

“These are particularly tragic deaths because they are completely preventable,” said Randy Elder, a research fellow at the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

The CDC said the 1984 Uniform Drinking Age Act, which required states to set the minimum legal drinking age at 21 by 1988, had helped to reduce drunken driving. The agency also cited “zero-tolerance” blood-alcohol standards for drivers under the legal drinking age as a factor contributing to the lower rates of fatal crashes.