Deaths from impaired driving show promising decline in King County

KING COUNTY, WA - Deaths from car crashes by impaired drivers decreased dramatically in 2007, based on newly-released data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. Impaired driving deaths, which include drivers under the influence of alcohol or other substances, declined 40% to 32 deaths. The previous four-year average was 53 deaths.

"These early results are encouraging, and we'll continue to watch closely for what we hope becomes a trend," said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health –Seattle & King County. "We lose too many on our roads to preventable events that pose a serious public health concern."

Speed-related fatalities also dropped significantly in 2007, by 27%, to 38 deaths from an average of 52 over the previous four years. While 2008 statistics are not yet available for analysis, Public Health, law enforcement, and community leaders are continuing traffic safety enforcement and education projects in King County, focusing on reducing preventable deaths on the road.

"I am pleased that King County has seen such a dramatic decline in traffic deaths, and we have seen similar drops in other counties as well," said Lowell Porter, Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. "Our partnership with King County is critical, and we will continue working toward our goal of no preventable traffic deaths in Washington."

Local safety patrols this weekend

Public Health – Seattle & King County works to reduce traffic deaths and injuries in King County through staffing the King County Traffic Safety Coalition and coordinating local X-52 patrols. Funded by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, X-52 patrols rotate around regions of the state every weekend, focusing on areas where impaired driving and speeding collisions are more likely to happen.

In King County, the following police departments will conduct X-52 patrols this Friday and Saturday: Bellevue, Black Diamond, Burien, Clyde Hill, Covington, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Normandy Park, Pacific, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, SeaTac, Seattle, Snoqualmie, and the Washington State Patrol.

Last Call Designated Driver and Safe Ride Home Program

In addition to organizing X-52 patrols, Public Health – Seattle & King County works with the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center to implement the Last Call program in Seattle.

Last Call established taxi stands in five Seattle neighborhoods with active night life: Fremont, Capitol Hill, Belltown, Ballard, and Pioneer Square. With the stands in place, people can more easily find a safe ride home after a night out drinking. Last Call also ran a comprehensive public education campaign to encourage people to plan for a sober ride home before going out. As part of the campaign, Last Call collaborated with bars in the target neighborhoods to publicize the taxi stands and encourage sober rides home.

"Driving while impaired is the leading cause of fatal traffic crashes in King County and the United States," said Dr. Fred Rivara, founding director of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center and George Adkins Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington. Young adults are especially at risk, and Last Call was designed with them in mind to reduce tragic deaths and disabling injuries on the road."

For more information about Last Call go to www.lastcallseattle.org or www.myspace.com/lastcallseattle.