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This was originally posted at The Sobering Up Blog by Scramsystems

In recent years, progress on reducing the number of drunk driving deaths has seemingly stalled. Alcohol-impaired driving consistently accounts for approximately a third of all traffic fatalities. In 2017 that translated to 10,874 fatalities from crashes involving drivers with a BAC of .08 or higher. 

While there is no silver bullet to address drunk driving, critics suggest more could be done to make America’s roads safer. A recent survey by NORC at the University of Chicago, sponsored by the National Safety Council, asked U.S. drivers about their support for some underutilized traffic-safety strategies. In relation to drunk driving, the survey asked about attitudes toward lowering the legal BAC limit for drivers, use of sobriety checkpoints, and alternative sanctions for repeat DWI offenders. 

Each respondent was given background information and research statistics on the strategies they would be evaluating so they could make informed judgments. Respondents were largely in favor of these strategies, with especially strong support for the measures to keep alcohol-impaired individuals from driving and to keep DUI offenders sober.  

1. Sobriety Checkpoints 

Decades of research has proven that checkpoints are highly effective in deterring drinking and driving. Widespread use of sobriety checkpoints could reduce fatalities by at least 8%. Adding passive alcohol sensors at checkpoints to detect alcohol-impaired drivers would increase detection by 50%. Only 12 states conduct sobriety checkpoints on a weekly basis, and several states have laws prohibiting the use of checkpoints.  

Almost a third of the survey respondents said that checkpoints should be conducted every weekend in their community, with 64.7% of the respondents in favor of monthly checkpoints. Of those surveyed, 68.2% were in favor of police using passive alcohol sensors at sobriety checkpoints to increase detection and enforcement. 

2. Ignition Interlocks and Alcohol Monitoring Anklets

All 50 states have some form of alcohol ignition interlock device laws, and installation of the interlocks can reduce repeat offenses by approximately 70% while the devices are installed. As such, it is not surprising that more than 80% of survey respondents favored requiring all convicted DWI offenders to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicles.

However, on average only about one-fifth of eligible offenders actually install the device on their car. In response, 71.9% of those surveyed were in favor of alternative sanctions—such as house arrest or required abstinence with an alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet—for convicted DWI offenders who refuse ignition interlock devices. Monitored sobriety has been shown to support long-term behavior change in repeat and hardcore drunk drivers—the individuals most likely to be involved in a fatal crash.

3. Lower Blood Alcohol Limit

Currently, 49 states have a BAC limit of .08, despite the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendation that all states reduce the legal BAC to 0.05. Several states such as New York, California, and Michigan are considering .05 legislation, but only one state, Utah, has a legal BAC limit of .05.

Three-quarters of those surveyed said they had heard of BAC limits for driving and thought that drivers with a BAC of .08 or higher were a danger. When asked if they thought the BAC limit should be lowered to .05 in their state if the penalty would not be criminal but administrative such as a fine or license suspension, more than 57.5% were in favor. 

Life-Saving Changes

None of these strategies have been widely implemented in the United States. This may be because of the public’s lack of knowledge of their effectiveness, and subsequently the lack of push to implement them. Along with current traffic safety enforcement measures, it is projected that putting these strategies into practice could significantly reduce traffic fatalities if implemented widely across the United States.

Which of these under-utilized strategies do you support?

•  Lowering the BAC limit from .08 to .05
•  Implementing sobriety checkpoints in your community
•  Alternative sanctions such as alcohol monitoring ankle bracelets

View Results

This was originally posted at The Sobering Up Blog by Scramsystems

Spring has arrived, the end of the school year is in sight, and prom festivities are taking place. These joy-filled celebrations too often include alcohol and the accompanying perils of underage drinking and driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), one in three alcohol-related teen traffic fatalities occurred during the prom season, from April to June. 

Encourage the young people in your life to avoid alcohol use and drunk driving during this special time in their lives. Spread the word about the dangers of underage drinking with the statistics featured in this infographic and increase awareness of the dangerous consequences of underage drunk driving.

This was originally posted at The Sobering Up Blog by Scramsystems

The goal of DUI checkpoints is primarily deterrence: to raise the perceived risk of arrest, and secondarily to enforce drunk and impaired driving laws. Checkpoint information such as location and time is often highly publicized in the targeted areas using High Visibility Enforcement (HVE)tactics to promote compliance with the law. But, not all agencies and organizations agree with distributing details about sobriety checkpoints as it may enable potentially impaired drivers to avoid the targeted area. For these reasons, there is some debate over the best approach to checkpoints: Advertise or Surprise?

Publicized DUI Checkpoints: A Deterrent?

One argument for disclosing location is to protect the agency conducting the checkpoint. Checkpoints were deemed legal and constitutional by the Supreme Court in 1990; however, publicly announcing them in advance limits their intrusion into people’s lives thus avoiding the possibility of a Fourth Amendment unlawful search issue arising.  

Several national agencies strongly recommend the use and publicizing of sobriety checkpoints.

• The National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) recommends highly publicizing upcoming checkpoints, as studies show it increases the deterrent effect and decreases alcohol-related fatalities by as much as 20 percent.  
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also recommends spreading the word about checkpoints to increase the perceived risk of getting caught, thus deterring impaired drivers and adding to the overall efficacy of the use of sobriety checkpoints. 
• A Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) review of studies evaluated the impact of publicized sobriety checkpoints. Six studies showed an increase ranging from 4 to 32% in the percentage of people in the targeted communities exposed to the “Don’t Drink and Drive” message. 
• The National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine in a 2018 report writes “States and localities should conduct frequent sobriety checkpoints in conjunction with widespread publicity to promote awareness of these enforcement initiatives.” 

Are Unannounced DUI Checkpoints Easily Avoidable? 

Historically, law enforcement agencies have preferred the “surprise” strategy for DUI checkpoints. Like many officers, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Anaya feels that notifying the public about checkpoints may allow illegal drivers to detour around them. “By providing notice to the public, those that are breaking the law are given the opportunity to potentially avoid a checkpoint.” Missouri Representative Scott Fitzpatrick felt so strongly that checkpoints are too easy for drunk drivers to avoid that he sponsored and passed a bill effectively eliminating their use in that state.

Even if a sobriety checkpoint is a non-publicized surprise, drivers may still be able to prepare in advance. The Fair DUI Flyer works on the premise that most states have not outlined exactly what standard of cooperation or adherence is required at checkpoints. This simple state-law specific flyer is placed by the driver in their window from the inside as they enter the checkpoint. The flyer shows the applicable law by which the driver is not required to show ID, speak with law enforcement, or even open their window. 

The crucial element of surprise for sobriety checkpoints was threatened by technology almost a decade ago, and again recently. In 2011 a group of U.S. Senators wrote a letter to smartphone companies asking them to ban apps that would identify drunk driving checkpoints. Several companies complied with the request. With the rise of Waze, a GPS navigation app that alerts users to traffic issues and police presence, a letter has again been written. New York City police in early February 2019 sent a letter to Google, the app’s parent company, stating that people who post the locations of sobriety checkpoints may be “engaging in criminal conduct”. Echoing the sentiment of the pro-publicizing checkpoint camp, Waze stated that identifying police locations promoted road safety because drivers were made aware and modified their behaviors.  

This was originally posted at The Sobering Up Blog by Scramsystems

We’ve all read the frequent headlines about drunk driving crashes on highways and residential streets, in urban and rural areas, at excessive speeds and even driving well below the speed limit. A DUI arrest is not limited, however, to operating a car on a designated public road. 

Each state determines the legality or criminality of where you are and what you are doing when you are behind a wheel with alcohol in your system. We’ve taken a look at six of the more surprising ways you can receive a DUI in a variety of states.  

1. Drunk Driving While Operating a Tractor 

The Arkansas House has recently approved legislation containing a new definition of “motor vehicle” that includes farm equipment such as tractors. A portion of the bill clarifies that operators of farm equipment involved in near-fatal or fatal driving incidents must have their blood alcohol content (BAC) checked just as an automobile driver would. The bill will be known as “Jacob’s Law” after the Arkansas man killed in an alcohol-related farming crash.

2. A DUI While Your Car is Parked

In many states it is possible to be charged with a DUI without actually moving your vehicle. Laws in these states declare it is illegal not only to drive a vehicle under the influence but also to be in “actual physical control” of a vehicle in a state of impairment. This Florida man was arrested on just such an offense, as was this Missouri lawyer. These laws also apply to intoxicated drivers who moved into the passenger seat or the back seat of the car they were operating. 

3. Driving Drunk on Private Property

The West Virginia Supreme Court determined that anyone driving while intoxicated, whether on public or private lands, can be charged with drunk driving. 

“The legislature chose to structure our DUI statutes to regulate the condition of the driver, not the locale in which the driving is taking place,” Justice Ketchum wrote. “Thus, the legislature expressed its plain intent to prohibit an intoxicated person from driving a vehicle anywhere in West Virginia, whether on public roads or across private land.” This precedent could be overturned with new legislation reaching the West Virginia legislature in 2019. 

4. Driving With (legal) Open Containers of Alcohol  

Mississippi is the only state in the nation without a law against open containers in a vehicle. Technically this lack of a prohibition does not mean that drinking and driving is legal. A driver could be in possession of any number of containers of alcohol, but they still cannot drink while driving, and they must maintain a BAC under .08. 

5. Don’t Drink and Ride a Bike in these States

More than 20 states have laws that allow for charging a drunken bicyclist with a DUI. Of the remaining states, many have laws that can be applied depending on where the bicyclist is riding. This Colorado woman was charged with a DUI after she damaged a car while riding her bicycle. North Dakota recently exempted bicycles and horses from state DUI laws, while South Dakota will charge a DUI not only to those operating a bicycle, but also anyone operating a tractor, horse, lawnmower or golf cart while under the influence.

6. Operating Watercraft Under the Influence

Boating Under the Influence (BUI) is a state law nationwide. In several states not only does this charge apply to the intoxicated driver of any type of vessel such as a boat or jet-ski, but also includes operators of water skis, kneeboards, wakeboards, and similar non-motorized recreational watercraft.  

Laws on drinking and driving exist for a reason—to keep people safe. Driving while impaired by alcohol slows reflexes, reaction time, and physical coordination. In a car or on a bicycle, on private property or on public waterways, driving under the influence of alcohol is always dangerous.

What surprising and unexpected ways to get a DUI have you read about? 

This was originally posted at The Sobering Up Blog by Scramsystems

Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) are one of the fastest growing specialty court types in the U.S.; there are now more than 551 VTCs nationwide. Recent legislation will fund support staff at these alternative courts to assist veterans on their road to recovery.

Veterans Treatment Courts Increase Assistance

This fall, the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act of 2018 was signed into law, increasing services for veterans impacted by the justice system.

This act enhances the ability of Treatment courts to serve veterans; the VA will be required to place 50 additional Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) specialists at VA Medical Centers. These specialists will serve as part of a team in a VTC. VJO Specialists currently serve in 551 Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) and other Veteran focused court programs across the U.S.

Veterans Treatment Courts and VJO specialists serve veterans who are or will soon be, part of the criminal justice system. The goal is to reduce recidivism among veterans by connecting participants to treatment services such as alcohol and drug counseling, rather than serving jail time. VJOs work directly with the courts to create treatment plans to address the reasons behind the criminal behavior of veteran offenders, many of whom are living with substance abuse problems.

Alcohol Abuse and Criminal Consequences On the Rise for U.S. Veterans

The VJO Specialist and court-ordered treatment programs address underlying issues like alcohol abuse and drug abuse, problems on the rise in the veteran population:

• 1.8 million veterans struggle with addiction
• 52.7% increase in veterans being treated for substance abuse from 1995 to 2013
• 81% of all justice-involved veterans had a substance abuse problem before going to jail

Alcohol abuse and related criminal activity is a growing problem for some veterans. There has been a significant increase in binge drinking in male veterans, with two times the increase for female veterans. Drinking more is connected to more drinking and driving and the veteran population has seen an increase in drunk driving of almost 60% since 2014.  “There’s no denying that American veterans contribute to the nationwide epidemic of drunk driving,” a study by the American Addiction Centers concludes.

Veteran Treatment Courts are continuing to open across the nation; criminal justice reform legislation is ushering in options outside of standard sentencing and incarceration. Soon, alternative courts with increased funding and enhanced support services for veterans may become the norm.

This was originally posted at The Sobering Up Blog by Scramsystems

In the spirit of the new year ahead, we have decided to look back at some of the 2018 trends surrounding drunk driving, alcohol addiction, and criminal justice.

Problem Drinking & Driving

It’s no secret that impaired driving is a widespread issue, but drinking and driving in certain age groups has its own set of dangers. For example, underage drivers are responsible for 17% of fatal alcohol-involved crashes and over one-third of fatal traffic crashes among young adults aged 16–20 involve alcohol. With drivers under the age of 21 representing 10% of licensed drivers in the U.S., these statistics are quite sobering.

The risks of drunk driving aren’t only more pronounced in teenage drivers, but also senior citizens. Older people are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol, and adults aged 65 and older tend to binge drink more often than other age groups. With even one drink being enough to impair driving skills in older people, the dangers of drinking and driving extend to the 40 million licensed drivers over the age of 64.

Promising Policies and Legislation

As the impacts of alcohol-involved fatalities and drunk driving become more prevalent, new legislation and policies are being put in place to help combat this issue.

For example, with the growing problem of college binge drinking and subsequent deaths, the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), representing over 6,100 chapters across 800 college campuses, has banned hard alcohol at all fraternity houses and events. Even students 21 and older will not be exempt from the new policy unless the alcohol is being controlled and served by a licensed third-party vendor.

On a larger legislative scale, Utah is the first state in the nation to lower the legal driving BAC from .08 to .05. With several other states considering the .05 legislation, researchers estimate that if every state were to adopt the lower BAC limit, it could potentially save 1,790 lives a yearthat would otherwise be lost to drunk driving incidents.

Alcohol Monitoring Programs Seeing Success, Gaining Traction

New laws and policies aren’t the only way jurisdictions across the country are addressing the issue of drunk driving. To help reduce DUIs, a number of jurisdictions are implementing alcohol monitoring programs that use a variety of technologies to supervise drunk driving offenders.

Earlier this year, the Honorable Judge John S. Kennedy retired after serving 22 years on the bench and building a highly successful alcohol monitoring program in York County, Pennsylvania. The Target 25 Program targets repeat drunk driving offenders, requiring pretrial supervision using alcohol monitoring. Not only is the program seeing continued success since its inception in 2012, but also helped reduce the number of same-year repeat DUI offenders by 90%.

Alcohol monitoring pilot programs are also gaining traction across the pond. Between 2006 and 2016, an estimated 9,050 people in Great Britain were killed or injured as a result of alcohol-involved crashes. But pilot programs using “sobriety tags” or continuous alcohol monitoring bracelets, are emerging across the country as areas around the UK are recognizing the impact of drunk driving. One such program in Northwest England saw a 92% sobriety rate in people wearing the tag and continues to gain traction as more areas consider their own alcohol monitoring programs.

What other trends in drunk driving, alcohol addiction, and criminal justice have you noticed this past year?

LINDSAY WILLIAMS

Lindsay Williams is a writer and communications specialist at SCRAM Systems. Williams earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Science from the University of Colorado and has over five years of professional writing and digital marketing experience. Prior to her time at SCRAM Systems, Williams worked as a DUI/DWI and alcohol education class coordinator where she gained first-hand experience in helping educate and rehabilitate alcohol-involved clients.

This was originally posted at The Sobering Up Blog by Scramsystems

The Prevention Research Center at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) has released a new study focused on a less researched aspect of drinking and driving behavior—the location where the drinking event took place before drinkers get behind the wheel and drive.

Where Have We Been When We Drink and Drive?

The study sought to uncover how different drinking contexts relate to the risk of alcohol-impaired driving and driving after drinking. A sampling of 8,553 adults across California revealed people drink most frequently in their own homes, followed by a friend’s or relative’s house. The classic “drinking in a bar” fell to the bottom of the list of frequent drinking locations.

Of the adults surveyed, more than half reported drinking at some time in the past year, with the majority of those drinking occasions taking place at home. Imbibing at home was associated with more frequent drinking, while consuming alcohol in other venues, such as bars and restaurants, was less frequent but more likely to lead to getting behind the wheel after drinking.

The study reaffirms that drinking outside the home correlates to higher rates of drinking and driving. However, the research also reveals that a substantial source of impaired drivers may be those frequent drinkers who only infrequently drive after drinking.

More Drinking = More Drinking and Driving

The research reveals new findings on the “place of last drink,” showing that greater drinking frequencies, regardless of place, are always related to greater rates of drunk driving, whether the drinking event is in one’s own home, at other’s homes, or at house parties.

Researchers have upheld the common knowledge that drinking at bars often leads to alcohol-impaired and drunk driving while noting that the study’s findings coincide with other studieson place-of-last-drink. These earlier findings show that alcohol-impaired driving events may also be widely distributed across residential areas. Study findings indicate approximately half the number of persons arrested for drunken driving were drinking in a private residence before their arrest.

Preloading and Prevention

There is a need for more detailed research on drinking location and how it relates to drinking and driving, and to what extent “preloading” at home may continue into a drinking event outside of the home. As recent research has shown and recent news stories have highlighted, further study may aid in prevention efforts.

The results of this latest study suggest that new programs to reduce alcohol-impaired driving should start with focused, community-based prevention programs. Where drinking takes place is fixed for most drinkers—drinkers drink where they feel welcome and comfortable. We may see a significant reduction in alcohol-impaired driving if anti-drunk driving programs include the risks of driving after drinking at home in their messaging.

This was originally posted at The Sobering Up Blog by Scramsystems

In 2016, nearly half of all drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes were between the ages of 16 and 34. And according to the Pew Research Center, more than 90% of Americans in that age group own a smartphone. Two mobile apps are tapping into those overlapping demographics to target would-be drunk drivers with easier options to find a sober ride home.

“Two Clicks to Save a Life”

The I’M DRUNK app is the creation of Carmen Dellutri and Tom Marquardt, two entrepreneurs determined to eliminate drunk driving and save lives. Their mission is “to change the social mindset of people about going out and being among friends and also about not driving drunk.”

The free app gives smartphone users quick access to taxi, ridesharing, or tow-and-go services anywhere in the country. “You never have to drink and drive or be impaired and drive again. Two clicks to save a life we like to call it,” Marquardt said recently.

The first click activates the app by tapping the “Be Safe” button and the second verifies the user’s location by zip code. The app then lists out transportation options for the user to choose from. Each user represents one less impaired driver on the road.

 

Mobile Tech Aims to Stop Drunk Driving

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2016, nearly 29 people were killed daily in alcohol-impaired crashes—or almost one person every 50 minutes. In 2015, NHTSA introduced their own mobile app—called SaferRide—to help people who have been drinking find a sober ride home. With SaferRide, users can quickly connect with a taxi or call a friend with a pre-programmed number. And if a user doesn’t know where they are, the app can also pinpoint their current location with a tap of a button.

But, if a potential drunk driver already has a smartphone in hand to call a taxi or ping a ridesharing service, do they really need yet another way to find a safe ride home? Certainly supporters of these apps say yes. Sometimes, as the SaferRide app advertises, “too drunk to drive means too drunk for complicated apps.” As a result, apps like I’M DRUNK and SaferRide offer a simple solution—easy-to-use applications that help people get home alive.

 

 

This was originally posted at The Sobering Up Blog by Scramsystems

When Colorado became the first U.S. state to permit the sale of recreational marijuana in 2014, some expressed concerns that the state would see a huge spike in drug-impaired driving. Four years later, the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice reports that cannabis alone accounts for about 6% of DUIs, while more than 90% of impaired drivers are under the influence alcohol or a combination of drugs and alcohol.

The division’s July 2018 report, “Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol, A Report Pursuant to House Bill 17-1315,” looks at Colorado’s 2016 DUI data—the most recent numbers available—to determine rates of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving. During that year the state reported 27,244 case filings with at least one DUI charge.

Drugged driving has become a pressing issue for many communities in recent years due to the rapid legalization of cannabis and the opioid crisis. While those concerns are well founded, the Colorado study highlights that drunk driving is still a significant danger on U.S. roadways.

Findings on Drugged and Drunk Driving

The report found key similarities between drugged and drunk driving and some important instances where they differ. Among the results:

• Speeding charges were more likely to be associated when the suspect was only under the influence of alcohol compared to only under the influence of THC.
• Nearly 38% of defendants stopped in 2016 had prior DUI convictions.
• Almost three-quarters of DUI defendants were male, regardless of substance.
• Alcohol and THC both metabolize quickly, and the data shows both BAC results and THC readings were higher the sooner a test was completed after a stop.
• Contrary to common expectations, Colorado law enforcement obtained blood tests more quickly than breath tests. The median time between a traffic stop and breath test was 76 minutes, compared to 64 minutes for a blood draw.

More Data Needed On Driving While High

One key finding related to drugged-driving: the picture is very incomplete.

As of June 2018, 31 states and Washington D.C. allow medicinal marijuana use and nine states plus the District of Columbia allow recreational use. Even as more states legalize marijuana, law enforcement continues to face challenges with detecting and recording drugged driving.

Police and sheriff’s departments have used alcohol breath testers for decades. However, there is no reliable roadside chemical test to determine if a person is driving under the influence of cannabis. Officers may need to call in a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) to conduct a field sobriety test. In addition, an evidentiary test for drugs—often the most credited piece of evidence in a DUI case—requires a blood sample.

As many drugged driving suspects also have alcohol in their systems, jurisdictions often don’t test for drugs if the person has already failed an alcohol breath test. Drug tests can cost jurisdictions anywhere from $100 to $500 each, and “the additional time and cost required for further toxicology testing may not be considered worthwhile if the burden of proof for impairment is already being met by a BAC level.”

Finally, court systems don’t have a consistent way to record drug data for DUI cases. This combination of factors means that drug-impaired driving is likely unrepresented in the available data.

The Fight Against Impaired Driving

The study’s results don’t suggest that officials should be unconcerned about high drivers. Many jurisdictions report that while drunk driving still outpaces drugged driving, the rate of drivers under the influence of marijuana and opioids is clearly on the rise.

Drivers under the influence of alcohol are more likely to make other dangerous driving choices, including adding drugs to the mix, speeding, or driving distracted. And the study notes, “combining marijuana and alcohol increases impairment and motor vehicle crash risk more than each alone.” Ultimately, the data suggests that successful education and enforcement efforts need to focus on impaired driving as a whole. Drugged and drunk driving are closely linked and pose a serious danger on the roads.

This was originally posted at The Sobering Up Blog by Scramsystems

College isn’t just eating pizza in dorm rooms, studying on the quad, and writing reports. Thanks to movies like Old School, Van Wilder, and Animal House, the word “college” is pretty much synonymous with “drinking.” But, college drinking extends past the occasional beer pong match and toga party.

According to SAMHSA’s 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 58% of full-time college students drank alcohol in the past month. And with about 20% of college students meeting the criteria for an alcohol use disorder, parties and drinking can be a dangerous hobby for undergrads, especially for freshmen.

College Freshmen Particularly At-Risk

Starting college is an exciting time for freshmen, but the stress of new environments, schedules, and a lack of friends to watch out for them puts them particularly at risk for dangerous drinking behaviors. As college freshmen exercise their newfound freedom and oftentimes little knowledge of the dangers of alcohol, they are susceptible to binge drinking a deadly amount, as is the case with a Texas Tech freshman who died of alcohol poisoning before his first day of classes.

In fact, alcohol is often a factor in freshman deaths, assaults, and injuries. Sometimes referred to as the “red zone,” the first two months are some of the most hazardous weeks for first-year students. But some colleges are beginning to recognize this dangerous adjustment period and have created awareness and training programs to educate students on safety precautions—many of which are required before classes begin.

College Binge Drinking Statistics

Early college drinking behaviors can have long-term impacts. Freshmen who develop unhealthy relationships with alcohol could put themselves at risk for their undergraduate career. Not only do underage drinkers account for more than 10% of the country’s alcohol consumption, but researchers estimate that 1,825 college students aged 18–24 die each year from alcohol-related injuries and car crashes.

Additionally, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) reports that over 150,000 college students will develop an alcohol-related health problem, and about 1.5% try to commit suicide due to drinking or drug use.

Over-consumption is still prevalent across campuses everywhere and college students still have some of the highest levels of binge drinking compared to other age groups. But college binge drinking rates are slowly declining. In fact, binge drinking rates have dropped steadily since 1991, and have even decreased by 21% over the past decade. So, while films featuring the stereotypical beer-guzzling frat boy probably won’t disappear anytime soon, binge drinking may someday become a thing of the past for college co-eds.