High Numbers of Drug and Alcohol-Related Crashes Continue

From 2015 to 2016, the DC area saw alcohol, drug and suicide death rates increase 58%. This crisis is growing in all populaces, but especially in African American and Latino residents. Nationally, Black Americans had a 39% increase in drug-related deaths, Latinos experienced a 24% surge, and White Americans saw a 19% increase.

While many may assume these issues stay behind closed doors, research shows they are hitting the roads. A report released this year from the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) indicates crashes related to drugs and alcohol remain high, and significant numbers result in accident fatalities.

The Numbers

There were approximately 92,000 traffic crashes around the DC region in 2017; of those, 4,400 were tied to drugs or alcohol use. All in all, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s report found nearly 1 in 4 deaths in 2016 were drug or alcohol-related.

Surprisingly, driving under the influence of alcohol remains a problem. While drunk driving fatalities have decreased around the region, local instances of drunk driving crashes and injuries have risen.

Kurt Erickson, president of WRAP, told WTOP News, “Drunken driving arrests … are actually down for the third consecutive year. Normally that would be good, but if it’s coming in the face of increasing crashes and injuries, that’s where it becomes a concern.”

Potential Causes

“The opioid crisis is having a real and devastating effect on the nation’s health,” says a personal injury attorney from John Foy & Associates.

It is certainly one cause of many. Just last year, the number of drivers killed in crashes involving prescription painkillers increased sevenfold across America. Synthetic drugs, which have been manufactured at startlingly high rates, may also be contributing to the rise. Heroin deaths, for instance, increased drastically from 2011 to 2012 due to wide availability and low prices.

The tighter control over prescription pills might encourage illicit drug use, too. Because substance abusers cannot obtain prescription pills or because they become tolerant to their effects, they turn to other illegal substances.

Finally, some experts point to the anxiety and stress plaguing Americans to explain the drug use. In a 2015 study by the American Psychological Association, researchers discovered the average stress levels for Americans were at 5.1, an increase from prior years. In the same survey, 25% of respondents reported being “extremely stressed.”

In fact, a 2017 poll found only 33% of Americans considered themselves happy.

The Good News

While the statistics may seem bleak at best, there is good news. Although the rates are still worryingly high, the total crash fatalities associated with drugs and alcohol has declined. Likewise, impaired driving arrests have also declined, and more patrols and sobriety checkpoints are being heavily advocated in the DC area to combat the high numbers.

“These are 100 percent preventable incidents,” Kurt Erickson stated. “We should be able to kick this problem.”