More Safety Tips

Seat Belt and Alcohol Statistics

• Alcohol is a factor in nearly half of America=s murders, suicides and accidental deaths. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• Alcohol is implicated in at least 18,000 of the more than 40,000 fatalities on the nation=s highways, roads and streets at an estimated annual cost of $5.4 billion. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• As much as 50 percent of police work is spent addressing alcohol-related problems in our nation. This would mean that the annual cost to law enforcement agencies is at least $7.5 billion dollars. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• Lost productivity from alcohol-related absenteeism, illness and premature exiting of the workplace, due to death and forced retirement, amounts to more than $70 billion each year. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• As much as $92.8 billion is lost each year to the economy by products, goods and services never produced or never delivered. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• Over 40 percent of corporate CEOs who responded to one survey estimated that the use of alcohol and other drugs costs them from 1-10 percent of their payroll. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• More than one third of pedestrians killed by automobiles were legally drunk. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• The use of alcohol is associated with the leading causes of death and injury among teenagers and young adults. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• Alcohol abuse costs businesses twice as much as illegal drug use. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• A clear relationship exists between alcohol use and grade point average (GPA) among college students. Students with GPAs of D or F drink three times as much as those who earn As. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• Alcohol impaired drivers get behind the wheel 123 million times a year in the U.S. (Journal of the American Medical Association, January 8, 1997 edition)
• There were 82 times more drunken driving arrests in the U.S. in 1996 than in 1993. (Source: www.alcoholfreekids.com)
• In fatal crashes, 75 percent of occupants totally ejected are killed. Safety belts are effective in preventing ejection. (Source: NCSA, Traffic Safety Facts 2001, page 3)
• Eighty-five percent of the medical costs for motor vehicle occupants injured in crashes are paid by others and not the person who chose not to buckle up. (Source: NHTSA Economic Impact of Crashes 2000)
• Hospital costs are 50 percent higher for those not wearing safety belts. Don’t be a burden on your family and friends. (Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Primary Enforcement Saves Lives, page 9)
• Over the last 26 years, safety belts have prevented 135,000 fatalities and 3.8 million injuries. This saved society $585 billion in medical care, lost productivity and other injury-related economic costs. (Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
• In the last 26 years, nearly 315,000 additional fatalities and 5.2 million serious injuries could have been prevented by safety belts, if all occupants used them. This represents an economic loss of $913 billion in unnecessary expenses and lost productivity. (Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

Alcohol in the Workplace

Nationally...

• About three out of every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives. (National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration)
• Up to 40 percent of industrial fatalities and 47 percent of industrial injuries can be linked to alcohol consumption and alcoholism. (M Bernstien & JJ Mahoney, Occupational Medicine)
• Twenty one percent of workers reported being injured or put in danger, having to re-do work or to cover for a co-worker or needing to work harder due to others’ drinking. (TW Mangione, JSI Research & Training Institute Inc.)
• Alcohol was involved in 41 percent of fatal crashes in 2001 – an average of one alcohol-related fatality every 30 minutes and one person is injured every two minutes. (National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration)
• Employees who were in serious trouble with alcohol showed significant improvement in drinking behavior and job adjustment during the months immediately following an intervention to confront problem drinking that was intruding on their work. (NIAA, Alcohol Health & Research World)
• One of every 130 licensed drivers in the United States has been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. (National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration)

Higher Risk...

• Work roles with little or no supervision, and those characterized by high mobility, are associated with increased rates of problem drinking. (NIAA, Alcohol Health & Research World)
• Numerous studies suggest a significant relationship between work stress and the development of drinking problems. (NIAA, Alcohol Health & Research World)
• In general, unmarried workers (divorced, separated or never married) had about twice the rate of heavy alcohol use as married workers. (USDHHA, SAMHSA)

Gender Differences...

• Studies have shown that the drinking patterns of employed women are different from those of women not employed outside the home, with less abstinence, increased consumption and greater frequency of drinking occasions observed among employed women. (HIAAA, AHRW)
• Theories about job stress, job conflict, or role overload as factors influencing alcohol consumption among women in paid employment have found little support; in fact, some studies associate a lack of roles with increased drinking and problem drinking. Drinking patterns of employed women instead seem to be influenced by greater accessibility to alcohol and by complex issues surrounding the gender balance of a workplace or occupation. (HIAAA, AHRW)

Prevalence by Occupation...

• The highest rates of current and past year heavy alcohol use are reported by workers in the following occupations: construction, food preparation and waiters/waitresses, along with auto mechanics, vehicle repairers, light truck drivers and laborers. (USDHHS, SAMHSA)
• The lowest rates of heavy alcohol use are among data clerks, personnel specialists and secretaries. (USDHHA, SAMHSA)

The Cost...

• Individuals with drinking problems or alcoholism at any time in their lives suffer income reductions ranging from 1.5 percent to 18.7 percent depending on age and sex compared with those with no such diagnosis. (NIAAA)
• Absenteeism among alcoholics or problem drinkers is 3.8 to 8.3 times greater than normal. (Bernstein & Mahoney)
• Nonalcoholic members of alcoholics’ families use ten times as much sick leave as members of families where alcoholism is not present. (Bernstein & Mahoney)

Always buckle up...