December 10, 2003

Holiday drinking habits
change in wake of new law

Dolly Butz
digital iowa staff reporter
Drake University

DES MOINES, Iowa --A new law and a public campign are changing the habits of party goers and may ultimately result in the saving of several lives on Iowa's roads this holiday season.

According to the Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau, the state had 404 traffic deaths in 2002. Of those traffic deaths, 101 were alcohol-related, down 17 deaths or 14 percent from the 2001total of 118, representing an all-time record low for Iowa.

"I think that because of the public information campaign, we're starting to see less of that (drinking-related accidents) than other years," said Scott Falb, an Iowa Department of Transportation Office of Driver Services research/public information officer. "We're seeing a decrease in the percentage overall in fatalities."

On July 1, Iowa lowered its blood-alcohol limit from 0.10 to 0.08. The state has been running ads on billboards and on television to raise awareness of the lower blood alcohol limit, in hopes of curbing the number of alcohol-related accidents.

National studies estimate that Iowa's new 0.08 law may save 10-16 lives per year, due to the reduction of impaired driving crashes.

According to Falb, the number of New Year's Eve fatalities is decreasing, matching the overall trend of drinking-related fatalities.

"We haven't had the law very long, so the numbers aren't as great, but it gets better and better over the years," Falb said.

According to the Govenor's Traffic Safety Bureau, a person with a 0.08 BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) is three times more likely to be involved in a traffic crash than if he or she had not been drinking.

"We're seeing more enforcement at the lower levels because they are looking for it," Falb said. "Law enforcement will pick up drivers at 0.08-0.09, but will get more drivers at 0.1."

According to the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau, approximately 40,000 persons age 25 and under will die in alcohol-related crashes in the United States within the next 10 years, with more than 400 of those deaths occurring in Iowa.

The 0.08 campaign is not the only program from which the Department of Transportation has seen results. Falb also said programs run by Mother's Against Drunk Driving and the Transportation Safety Commission and the promotion of designated drivers have also had a positive effect on people's drinking habits--a change that can readily be seen during the holidays.

"We saw a shift from people going to bars to having parties at home," Falb said. "People are extending their time, drinking slowly."

While advocates of the 0.08 law argue that it will decrease traffic deaths, opponents argue that it will severly hurt the business of restaurants and bars, keeping people at home or making them afraid to drink.

"The nature of parties really changed, but it didn't really hurt bars' revenues," Falb said.

Falb said people are celebrating with food and soft drinks instead and are cutting down on their use of liquor.

"People are using other activities to take the place of mood altering substances," Falb said.

Although the number of drivers under the influence on the road this season apparently may be smaller than past years, the Iowa State Patrol still cautions motorists to refrain from consuming alcohol and to operate their vehicles safely. It also encourages motorists to report drivers driving improperly directly to the Iowa State Patrol (800) 525-5555 or 911 in emergency situations.