An alcohol-related crash is a crash that involved at least one driver, pedestrian or pedal-cyclist with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.01 g/dl or above (non-sober). A fatality that occurs in such a crash is defined here as an alcohol-related fatality. This fact sheet provides statistics on alcohol-related fatalities in the states in 2003, and also compares those numbers with the corresponding data for 2002. Of particular interest are the changes in the number of alcohol-related fatalities in 13 states that were the Strategic Evaluation States (SES): Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia. In 2003, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiated an impaired driving campaign, the 'You Drink and Drive You Lose' (YD&DYL) law enforcement crackdown. This campaign uses high visibility law enforcement, along with paid advertising and earned media during a nationally coordinated crackdown. Special emphasis was placed in the SES, by offering additional resources for paid media, evaluation and technical assistance. The fact sheet shows that, overall, 42,643 persons died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the US in 2003, a drop of 362 fatalities from 2002. Alcohol-related fatalities dropped to 17,013 in 2003, the first decrease since 1999. The 511 fewer alcohol-related fatalities reflected a 3% reduction from the 17,524 fatalities in 2002. Although the SES and the rest of the nation had similar decreases in the overall number of fatalities in 2003, the SES showed a greater magnitude of decline in alcohol-related fatalities. Four of the SES showed an increase in the total number of fatalities while twelve of the states showed a decrease in alcohol-related fatalities from 2002.
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