Millions of Americans are still driving drunk

Against all efforts to limit drunk driving, some 30 million Americans are driving drunk and another 10 million are driving drugged each year, federal officials report.In fact, in some states the number of drunk and drugged drivers tops 20 percent, according to a report released Thursday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

This is a pretty high percentage of people that are operating a motor vehicle under the influence of something,” said Peter Delany, director of Center Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration  for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, also known as SAMHSA.Other SAMHSA officials noted that thousands of people are killed and maimed yearly by drunk and drugged drivers, even though the entertainment industry, in some movies such as Due Date, portrays drunk and drugged driving as “harmless fun.”There has been a small decline in the number of those driving drunk or drugged, he added. “But, even though we are making advances, we still have a ways to go,” he said. “The reality is any numbers are concerning.”In addition, levels of drunk and drugged driving varied among age groups, with younger drivers much more likely to drive while impaired. Drivers aged 16 to 25 had a much higher rate of drunk driving, compared with those aged 26 and older (19.5 percent vs. 11.8 percent).

Those aged 16 to 25 also had a higher rate of drugged driving than those aged 26 and older (11.4 percent vs. 2.8 percent).Anna Duerr, a spokeswoman for the advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said her organization was pleased to see a decline in the numbers of drunk and drugged drivers. “However, the problem is far from solved,” she said. “Nationwide in 2009, 10,839 people were killed in drunk driving crashes.”In an effort to keep drunk drivers off roadways,MADD is calling on states to pass legislation requiring an ignition interlock for all convicted drunk driving offenders, Duerr said.This device  which tests for alcohol on a  driver’s breath before permitting the car to start requires the driver to blow into a hand held sensor unit attached to the ignition. The car will turn on only if the breathalyzer finds the driver’s breath alcohol content is under the legal limit.