DUI Deaths Hit 2 Decade Low —
The nation’s alcohol-related traffic death rate has dropped by more than half during the past 20 years, a government study shows. But the chances of being killed by a driver who’s been drinking still vary significantly from state to state. See your state’s trend in this chart. Page 11 of the 117-page document is the state-by-state page.
The stats are pretty impressive. For example:
- Alabama’s DUI fatality rate is down 60 percent since 1982
- Arizona is down 54 percent
- Georgia dropped 66 percent
- Illinois is down 61 percent
- Oklahoma saw a 70 percent drop.
This is the federal government’s most comprehensive look at drunken driving accidents over the past two decades and shows that gains in the fight against drunken driving have been widely disproportionate across the country.
Drivers in South Carolina, the state with the highest death rate, for example, are four times more likely to die in alcohol-related traffic accidents than drivers in Utah, the state with the lowest death rate.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration compiled the state-by-state statistics to encourage states at the bottom of the rankings to get tough on drivers who drink. The agency and law enforcement in every state say they will crack down on drunken and drugged drivers with sobriety checkpoints and increased patrols from Dec. 20 through Jan. 5, the kickoff to a year-long effort to curb impaired driving.
“Impaired drivers represent one of our nation’s greatest threats,” said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. “There are nearly one billion drinking and driving trips annually which kill more than 45 people every day. This crime will not be tolerated. Today marks the beginning of a yearlong effort focused on what we know prevents impaired driving – highly visible detection, arrest and prosecution.”
“We know much more about drugged driving now than we have in the past,” said ONDCP Director John Walters. “Last year an estimated 8 million people drove while under the influence of an illicit drug. The White House is committed to enhancing federal efforts to help states and local communities protect all Americans from impaired driving.”
Highway safety advocates say Americans have become complacent about the dangers of drunken driving. Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, said more attention has been focused recently on the risk of cell phone use than on drunken driving.
“We have very little evidence that a significant number of people are dying from cell phones, yet we know that more than 17,000 people died from drunken driving,” he said.
MADD President Wendy Hamilton blames higher death rates in some states on a lack of political leadership. “Those states are not enforcing the right laws and are not passing the right laws,” she said.
Federal Trade Commission Wants National Do Not Call List for Telemarketing
Finally, there is a chance you might get some relief from telemarketers. Twenty-seven states already have do not call lists, now. By spring, there may be a national list that will help everyone else. This would be a great time to revisit your own state’s do not call list to see how it is working.
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday announced a series of amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) including the development of a national “do not call” registry that empowers consumers to stop most unwanted telemarketing calls. The Commission’s decision to develop such a registry comes after nearly a year of analysis, in which more than 60,000 public comments were received; the overwhelming majority of which supported a national “do not call” list. The new rule will not stop charities from calling, but it does require telemarketers calling to solicit charitable contributions to promptly disclose the name of the organization making the request and that the purpose of the call is to ask for money for charity.
The other amendments include new provisions that will:
- crack down on unauthorized billing by telemarketers
- impose tight new restrictions on the practice of “call abandonment” – where a consumer rushes to answer the phone, only to find “dead air”
- require telemarketers to transmit Caller-ID information, so that consumers who subscribe to Caller-ID services will know who is calling.
The majority of the changes will become effective immediately.
Creation of the “do not call” registry, however, requires additional time. Information about the TSR amendments and the “do not call” registry is available at www.ftc.gov/donotcall. It is planned that the system will be ready to begin accepting consumer registrations about four months after funding approval by Congress. Registration via the Internet will be available nationwide at that time, but registration via toll-free number will be phased in by region.
Approximately two months after the completion of the phased-in registration, telemarketers will be able to access the registry to “scrub” their call lists so that they can avoid calling consumers on the registry. A month after that, the Commission will begin enforcing the “do not call” registry provisions. Registration will be good for five years, or until the consumer changes his or her phone number or moves.
Gold Prices Spike, Hit 5 Year High
Gold prices have climbed 23 percent in a ragged and halting rally throughout 2002, spurred by a cocktail of geopolitical tensions from the Middle East to Kashmir and a slump in global equity markets and the dollar. The dollar has been declining for most of 2002. The Dollar Index is down over 15 percent from its peak this year. This is partly because demand for the dollar has declined. Part of the decline is related to less demand on the part of foreigners to buy U.S. stocks. There are fewer capital inflows to the U.S. as demand for U.S. securities declines, and that produces a downward impact on the dollar. But, the weaker dollar is the result of weaker demand for U.S. stocks.
Asbestos Settlement
I assume you all picked up on the asbestos settlement that I told you was coming last Friday. It involves 300,000 people who suffered from asbestos exposure.
Is Your CD Player Spying on You?
My Poynter colleague Larry Larsen found this posting on Slashdot, which talks about a software program that some recording studios are using. The creators of the program say, “The technology, Bandlink CD Intelligence, promises to help forge a more intimate relationship between the elusive recording industry and music lovers, by allowing music companies to provide information on a CD that will automatically connect the consumer to a fun, interactive Web site, via their personal computer.”
In other words, your music CD, when played on a computer, will connect you automatically with this website that will show you the latest news about the band on the CD. But the question is, do you want your CDs to be able to tell the recording companies anything about you?
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
