- DUI-related road deaths spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic
- A new analysis blames mental health issues more than alcohol policies
Road deaths and impaired driving spiked at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. A new report blames a mental health crisis, not relaxed alcohol laws, for the problem.
Researchers from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a car safety lab funded by insurance companies, analyzed fatal crashes nationwide between 2018 and 2022. They separated them into pandemic and pre-pandemic dates.
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Before the crisis began, the researchers found, “28% of passenger-vehicle drivers killed in crashes had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more, the legal limit in most states. In 2020, as the effects of the pandemic set in, that proportion increased to 30% and remained elevated through 2022.”
They examined self-reported depressive episodes, reductions in law enforcement, and more lax alcohol laws to see which of the three may have contributed.
Fewer Police, More Mental Health Issues
- Researchers connected fewer police officers and more mental health issues to increased deaths
“Increases in self-reported depressive episodes and suicide plans and reductions in full-time law enforcement personnel were both associated with rises in impaired-driver deaths,” they found.
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“It’s notable that the effect of the mental health crisis was more pronounced than the reduction in policing, as the mental health dimension of the impaired-driving problem receives comparatively little attention,” said study author Angela Eichelberger, a senior research scientist at the IIHS.
Changes to Alcohol Policies Had Mixed Impact
- Home alcohol delivery increased deaths, but to-go drinks decreased them
Changes to alcohol policy were more mixed. States that allowed home delivery of alcohol saw increased road deaths. But, “for reasons that remain unclear,” allowing bars and restaurants to sell carry-out alcohol was “associated with about 450 fewer deaths per year in states with those rules in place.”
What can America do to address the issue? The IIHS found one promising approach.
Special courts specifically created to address DUIs, the researchers wrote, could help “bring a mental-health-oriented approach to impaired driving.”
“Staffed by prosecutors and judges who specialize in driving-while-intoxicated cases, these special courts have been shown to reduce repeat offenses by incorporating counseling, support groups, and mental health programs with intense supervision.”