Alcohol-impaired driving and children in the household

Abstract

More children in the United States are killed in motor vehicle crashes annually than by any other cause; nearly a quarter of these deaths involve alcohol. This study examines the national prevalence of alcohol-impaired driving and riding with an alcohol-impaired driver and the association of these behaviors to having at least 1 child in the household. An estimated 2.5 million adult drivers with children living in their households reported that they had been a recent alcohol-impaired driver. Evidence-based approaches, including mass media campaigns and sobriety checkpoints, continue to be critically important public health activities.