In 2021, 13,384 people died on our nation’s roadways due to OWI according to the NTHSA.  33% of impaired drivers being OWI repeat offenders. In 2022, Indiana lost 227 citizens due to DUI fatalities with 26% of fatalities in Lake County, which ranks as the 2nd highest county.

According to the most current data from the NIH, in 2016, among people killed in driving accidents that year, 43.6% of drivers who were drug tested & had positive results; 50.5% were positive for two or more drugs; 40.7% were positive for alcohol.

Ten percent (683,000) of Indiana's 6.8 million population has a Substance Use Disorder.  Indiana's 2021 Epidemiological Profile identified Lake County as the county with the second highest risk for alcohol abuse and ranked Lake County among the least healthy counties with 19% adults reporting excessive or binge drinking within last 30 days. Further, 63% of Indiana repeat OWI offenders had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .15 or higher.

Opioid misuse & addiction have created a national crisis in the United States.  In 2022, 2,558 Hoosiers died of drug overdose fatalities; 165 were Lake County residents. According to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH), 8.9 million people ages 12 or older reported misusing heroin or prescription pain relievers in the past year. In 2022, 991,000 people aged 12 or older misused prescription fentanyl or used illegally made fentanyl.  From 2017-2018 rates were generally higher among young adults ages 18 to 25 for misuse of prescription opioids (IN: 6.9%; U.S.: 6.3%) and heroin (IN: 0.9%; U.S.: 0.5%) (SAMHSA, 2020). Prescription opioid misuse was reported in 19.9% of substance use treatment admissions in Indiana.

Now more than ever, we need to focus our efforts on substance use disorder and drugged driving, in addition to drunk driving, because drugged driving causes such a high level of fatalities. (Criminal Justice & Human Services UC Center for Prevention Science "Drugged driving among U.S. adults: Results from the 2016-2018 national survey on drug use and health" -- published in the Journal of Safety Research). The 3-year (2016-2018) study found that while 8.52% of adults reported driving under the influence of alcohol, compared to 4.49% who drove under the influence of marijuana, a sizable number of adults used both marijuana & other drugs while under the influence of alcohol (70.34%), driving; with males significantly more likely than females to engage in drugged driving. Commonly reported drugs used while drugged driving are marijuana & opioids, with nearly one in five individuals. The most reporting the use of marijuana while driving a vehicle.

Every day, hundreds of families and communities experience the tragedy and pain inflicted by impaired drivers.  The loss extends even beyond the fatalities, the injuries and the impact on families. Everyone pays for impaired driving with increased taxes, higher insurance premiums and escalating healthcare costs.

Thousands of Americans continue to make the wrong choice.  The National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTA) estimates a first time drunk driver offenders has driven approximately 87 times drunk prior to being arrested.

You can protect yourself, your family and our community to improve highway safety for all of us.  The Choice is Yours to Make!

For your safety, and the safety of others…Don’t Drink and Drive, Don’t Drive Impaired, Don’t Ride with anyone who is impaired, Never Use Illegal Drugs!