Dallas, U.S.A. — In response to new data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showing 9,878 drunk driving fatalities in 2011, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is celebrating an historic milestone in the nation’s fight against drunk driving; the first time drunk driving fatalities have fallen below 10,000.

“This drop in deaths is an important milestone in our nation’s ongoing fight against drunk driving and is further validation that MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving is working,” said MADD National President Jan Withers. “MADD urges state lawmakers to take advantage of recently passed federal funds available for states requiring all convicted drunk drivers to use an ignition interlock device.”

Not only did the number of people killed in drunk driving crashes in 2011 (9,878) drop by 2.5 percent from the number killed in 2010 (10,136), but this decline outpaced the 1.9 percent decrease in overall highway deaths. “Our efforts are paying off in lives saved and injuries prevented,” added Withers.

Since MADD was founded in 1980, more than 300,000 lives have been saved as a result of efforts to strengthen drunk driving laws and raise awareness about this 100 percent preventable crime. In addition, since MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving was launched in 2006, we’ve seen an almost 27 percent decrease in drunk driving fatalities. The campaign includes three important components: 1) supporting high-visibility law enforcement efforts, such as sobriety checkpoints and NHTSA’s nationwide ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaign; 2) requiring ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers; and 3) supporting the development of technology to automatically determine whether a driver is at or above the legal limit of .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

“While we have much to celebrate today, we are also reminded of the 9,878 precious lives lost to drunk driving in 2011 and the countless loved ones left behind to pick up the pieces,” said Withers. “In addition, we know that preliminary numbers indicate an overall increase for highway deaths in 2012, so MADD is reminding people across the country to remain vigilant in always planning ahead for a sober designated driver during the holidays and year-round.”

For more information on MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, visit www.madd.org/campaign.

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Stone Phillips, former Dateline NBC and ABC News 20/20 reporter, returns to the field with ”Hard Hits, Hard Numbers: The First Study of Head Impacts in Youth Football.”

This exclusive story, released on StonePhillipsReports.com January 27th, reveals the findings of a groundbreaking Virginia Tech study, which placed instrumented helmets on 7- and 8-year-old football players.  Data was collected on more than 750 hits to the head over the course of a season.  With some impacts reaching magnitudes considered high even for college players, the findings provide the first quantitative assessment of the acceleration that young brains are exposed to in youth football.

Lead researcher Stefan Duma, who has been gathering data on head impacts among college players at Virginia Tech for nine seasons, describes the results of the youth study as “surprising.”  ”The highest impact we measured was 100g, which puts you right in the middle average of a concussion,” Duma tells Phillips.

Dr. Gunnar Brolinson, head of Virginia Tech’s Sports Medicine Department, remarks, “With the kids, when you start seeing 50, 60, 70, 80g blows, you’re just going ‘Wow!’ That is really impressive in terms of the load that’s occurring.  And again, you’ve got a young athlete and a developing brain subject to those kinds of loads. So it’s concerning.”

Significantly, 29 of the top 38 hits and all impacts over 80gs occurred during practices.  ”This shows how important our research is.  Without the sensors, we would never have known this. We can change the practices like we’ve done at college and dramatically minimize risk,” says Professor Duma.

The study, expected to be published this spring, was funded through a grant from NHTSA and conducted through the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest Center for Injury Biomechanics.

“Hard Hits, Hard Numbers” features interviews with Stefan Duma, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Gunnar Brolinson, team doctor and head of Virginia Tech Sports Medicine, John Clark, coach of the participating youth football team, and team parents.

Stone Phillips, who suffered two sports-related concussions during his high school and college years, says, “We all know how fierce the hitting is in professional, college and even high school football.  For the first time, this study gives hard, sobering numbers on head impacts among the youngest players.”

Image Courtesy of  Richard Paul Kane / Shutterstock.com

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During the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend state, county and local police agencies from throughout the Midwest will be stepping up enforcement of seat belt and other traffic safety laws. The Click It or Ticket mobilization will run from November 24th through November 27th.

“Police agencies throughout the Midwest are joining together this Thanksgiving holiday with one simple goal – to get motorists to buckle up, which will save lives on our roadways,” said Michael Witter, Regional Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ”We want all motorists to arrive at their destinations safely.

While law enforcement officials will tell you that issuing tickets is never a pleasant experience, having to notify next of kin following a fatal crash is by far a worse scenario,” stated Witter.

In 2009 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 12,713 lives. An additional 3,688 lives could have been saved if seat belts had been worn at the time of the crashes. NHTSA statistics also show that those least likely to buckle up are teens, young adults, males, nighttime riders, motorists traveling on rural roads, and individuals traveling in pickup trucks.

During the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday, 303 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes, including 187 during nighttime hours. According to Witter, nighttime is one of the more dangerous times on the road because seat belt use is traditionally lower. ”Wearing a seat belt costs you nothing and may save your life or protect you from a serious, possibly life-altering injury.

Not wearing a seat belt, especially during this Thanksgiving period, will definitely cost you a ticket at the very least, and maybe even your life,” Witter continued. ”In addition to stepped-up seat belt enforcement, police will also be cracking down on impaired drivers and those driving at excessive speeds,” added Witter.

“Anyone caught speeding will be ticketed, and anyone caught driving impaired will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Witter concluded. State Police from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio are participating in the holiday mobilization.

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