The horrific car accident in which a woman driving drunk killed eight last week in New York sheds light on a disturbing trend - the increased instances of women getting behind the wheel when legally drunk.

In Westchester County, NY - where Diane Schuler’s fatal crash occurred - the number of women arrested for driving under the influence is up 2 percent in 2009. Across the U.S. a federal study found that the number of women who reported abusing alcohol nearly doubled, rising from 1.5 to 2.6 percent in the 10 year period from 1992-2002.

Men still drink more than women and are responsible for more drunken-driving cases, however their rates continue to decline while DUI’s among women are rising rapidly. In 2007 the number of women arrested for DUI was 28.8 percent higher than in 1998, while the number of men arrested declined by 7.5 percent.

In the 15 years I drank, I was never picked up for DUI. Did I drive drunk? Unfortunately, my answer is yes, worse there was more than one occasion where I did not remember how I got home. In Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace, Kay Scott tells her brother Paul he must stop drinking before he is responsible for something “he can never take back” and certainly driving drunk is at the top of the list.

Ms. Schuler’s family appears to be in denial that she had a drinking problem, a fact which only compounds the tragedy. But the increasing numbers of women driving drunk now has the attention of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The department’s annual crackdown which begins in late August will focus on getting drunk women driver’s off the road.

Last August over 100 college presidents signed a letter asking legislators across the U.S. to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 because they believe it’s impossible to stop young people from drinking. Called “The Amethyst Initiative” the coalition  includes college presidents from Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland, Washington and Lee, Colgate, Syracuse, Sweet Briar, Duke, Tufts, Dartmouth, and other schools. The group insists with a higher legal drinking age, binge drinking on college campuses has gotten progressively worse.  

Fast-forward 11 months to the July 12 editorial in The Washington Post that maintained a lower drinking age won’t stop binge drinking. As a recent study published in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry noted, the higher drinking age has led to a decrease in binge drinking nationwide, with the exception of college campuses.

Lowering the drinking age won’t make binge drinking disappear, on college campuses or otherwise, a fact The Amethyst Initiative appears to ignore. They also disregard that binge drinking typically results in acute intoxication which can be detrimental to a person’s health in a number of ways:  

• Brain function is impaired, resulting in poor judgment, reduced reaction time, loss of balance and motor skills, or slurred speech.
• Blood vessels dilute causing a feeling of warmth but resulting in rapid loss of body heat.
• Alcohol intoxication increases the risk of certain cancers, stroke, and liver disease (such as cirrhosis) when excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed over an extended period of time.
• Alcohol consumption also poses risks to pregnant women and their developing fetus.
• Alcohol consumption increases the risk of motor-vehicle traffic crashes, violence, and other injuries.
• Binge drinking can also result in death.

As illustrated by the Pierson family in my novel, Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace, binge drinking as an adolescent can lead to deeper alcohol problems as an adult. So instead of complaining about the higher drinking age, college administrators might do well to put more thought and effort into enforcing it.

It’s the Holiday Season - presents, parties, and an uptick in drunken driving arrests. For law-enforcement officials and impaired drivers, December is National Drunk and Drugged Prevention Driving Month. In many states December is also the month law-enforcement officials crack down on DUI’s through a heavier presence of officers on the roads, sobriety checkpoints, and tougher Minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws.

Sobering Statistics
Every day, 36 people in the United States die and approximately 700 more are injured in motor vehicle accidents involving an impaired driver.

In 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-related crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the U.S.

In one year, 1.4 million Americans were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This accounts for less than 1% of the 159 million self-reported incidents of driving under the influence reported each year.

 Alcohol-related crashes in the U.S. cost approximately $51 billion a year.

In Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace, a key scene occurs at the Pierson Companies employee Christmas party, where Paul’s wife Pamela flies into a drunken rage. Attending parties this holiday season, make sure you’ve made arrangements for getting home safely.

Plan ahead. Always designate a non-drinking driver before any holiday party or celebration begins.

Take the keys. Do not let a friend drive drunk.

Be a responsible host. If you’re hosting a holiday party, remind your guests to plan ahead and designate a sober driver. Provide non-alcoholic refreshments, and make sure all of your guests leave with a sober driver.

If you’re attending a holiday gathering in a hotel and you plan to drink, make arrangements to spend the night.