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By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
A nationwide crackdown on drunken driving aimed primarily at men ages 21 to 34 began Wednesday as federal authorities reported that alcohol was a factor in 16,885 traffic deaths last year.
"Drunk driving is one of America's deadliest crimes," Acting Transportation Secretary Maria Cino said. "Our message is simple: If you drive drunk, you will be arrested."
Cino announced an $11 million campaign of television, radio and Internet advertisements. The campaign — "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest." — is the largest such effort ever and will coincide with increased roadside sobriety checkpoints between now and Labor Day.
The ads show authorities pulling over three men driving in vehicles filled with beer, wine or liquor and tell viewers: "Make no mistake: You will get caught, and you will be arrested."
Alcohol was a factor in 39% of all traffic deaths in 2005, Cino said. Male drivers ages 21 to 34 were involved in more alcohol-related crashes than any other group, followed by men 35 to 44.
It is illegal to drive in the USA with a blood-alcohol content at or above 0.08%. The number of fatalities in crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator who was illegally drunk dipped slightly.
Deaths in crashes involving a driver with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15% — nearly twice the legal limit — rose modestly.
The overall number of alcohol-related traffic deaths represented a small decline from 2004. The total includes people killed in crashes in which at least one driver had a blood-alcohol reading of at least 0.01%.
Twenty-three states recorded decreases in alcohol-related traffic deaths from 2004 to 2005. But Eric Bolton, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the data represent a "snapshot" and not a significant trend.
The figures have shown little improvement in recent years. In 1997, for example, 16,711 people were killed in alcohol-related traffic crashes.
Safety advocates predicted that the enforcement campaign would bring results.
"Everybody in this country's going to hear about this campaign," said Jim Champagne, Louisiana's top highway safety official and chairman of the Governors Highway Safety Association. "We will be using sobriety checkpoints at a level that we've never done before."