A new report to be published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine discusses how driving after binge drinking is more prevalent than previously believed.  The study obtained data from over 14,000 adults in thirteen (13) states in 2003 to determine how many people actually get behind the wheel after binge drinking, which is defined as consuming five (5) or more drinks at a given location.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that there are 1.5 billion binge drinking episodes each year in the U.S. alone.  The study also found that 11.9% of the binge drinkers drove within two hours of their binge drinking; 50% are between the ages of 25 and 44 years of age, and 54.3% were coming from bars, clubs, or restaurants, and only 23% were drinking at someone else’s home-it is unclear whether the study evaluated how many of those people were drinking at their own home?  We will just have to wait until October to obtain the Journal to find out if such a statistic was obtained.  Of the 54.3% who were coming from bars, clubs, or restaurants, the study reports that about 1-in-5 drove a vehicle afterward consuming the binge drinking episode.

According to the study author, Dr. Timothy Naimi, a physician with the alcohol team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the new research adds a timeline and other new information to what’s known about drinking and driving.  Dr. Naimi also pointed out that while laws make it illegal for bars, clubs and restaurants to sell alcohol to intoxicated people, those laws are not well-enforced.  Thus, “The key thing about this study is: it’s really illustrating the shared responsibility between individual drinkers and the places that are selling them alcohol.”  To remedy the problem, places that serve alcohol should train servers and bartenders to stop serving people who are too intoxicated and strengthening the liability of club and restaurant owners for doing so.

The article from which this blog was created was: “Driving After Binge Drinking, More Common Than Believed.”  The article was written by Kathleen Doheny and published in the HealthDay Reporter.