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For decades the Distilled Spirits Council has been committed to ridding the streets of drunk drivers, through efforts to increase awareness and enact comprehensive drunk driving laws. However, the commitment extends even further, as America’s leading distillers have supported numerous responsibility initiatives to combat alcohol abuse and encouragd responsibility for over seventy years. Examples of such efforts include funding the development of the breathalyzer in the 1940s and co-sponsoring the Department of Transportation’s "Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk" public service campaign in the 1980s.
- The distilled spirits industry is a national leader in combating drunk driving through tough law enforcement and education. The Distilled Spirits Council initiated drunk driving legislation, considered and adopted by state legislatures around the country, which includes mandatory alcohol education for drivers, zero tolerance for underage drivers, administrative license revocation, anti-open container laws, and drug and alcohol testing for drivers in fatal crashes.
- In 2001, the Distilled Spirits Council joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in supporting a .08 blood alcohol concentration limit (BAC) coupled with comprehensive drunk driving measures. Some of these measures include strict penalties against repeat drunk drivers, administrative license revocation and effective test refusal laws.
- The Distilled Spirits Council, supports legislation to curb hardcore drunk driving, by enacting more stringent laws for those that drive with a BAC of .15 or above and those that repeatedly break drunk driving laws. Hardcore drunk drivers present one of the greatest dangers on the road today. In 2002, 57% of the alcohol-related traffic fatalities involved drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .15 or above. In fact, data shows that drivers with a BAC of .15 or above are 385 times more likely to be involved in a crash. In 2006, the Distilled Spirits Council pledged to redouble efforts to fight hardcore drunk driving when it announced its support for MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving.
While much has been done to reduce drunk driving, much more is still needed. The Distilled Spirits Council calls for the continued cooperation between the beverage alcohol industry, law enforcement, public officials, educators, insurers, health care professionals, and responsible citizens to continue to combat this very real problem.
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