Evening star., 1936-07-16
Drunken Driving.

There will be many who share Mr..
Offutt's qualification over the decrease of
3,463 in arrests for intoxication from
last years total of 22,589 without agree
ing with him that any such showing
justifies belief that social conditions"
are improving under the present system
of liquor control Social conditions"
cover pretty wide stretch of territory.
The present system of liquor control is
probably working as efficiently as any,
body expected, with notable absence of
scandal. But even if one chooses the
doubtfully accurate index of arrests for
intoXication as having significant bearing
on social conditions" any cause for
qualification from such figures should be
offset in large degree by the continued
increase in arrests for driving while in
toxicated and in accidents resulting from
intoxication.
Mr.. Offutt and Traffic Director Van
Duzer, whom he quotes, should be careful
not to permit their remarks to be
interpreted as minimizing the drunken
driver menace. 1t is not clear what Mr..
Offutt may have expected when the sale
of liquor was legalized, but there is moth
ing to become enthusiastic about merely
because drunken driving still causes
relatively small proportion of the total
number of automobile accidents. The
number of such accidents continues to
increase, for Washington and for the
rest of the country. The number of ar
rests for driving while drunk has in
creased fifteen per cent over last year.
Available statistics, showing 1913 ar
rests for drunken driving in the past
twelve months, as compared with 349
of the year before are only partially re-
vealing. There is to be considered the
great number of accidents and arrests in
which drunken driving does not appear
in the formal charge, simply because the
arresting officer was not sure he could
make it stick" When is a man drunk?
1t often depends on personal opinion.
An analysis of 119 automobile accidents
in and around Uniontown, Pa, resulted
in classifying sixty per cent Of them as
'alcohol accidents" an alcohol accident
being one in which the person responsible
had more than .02 per cent alcohol in
body fluids, enough to cause psychology
cal inferiority' but not enough to cause
obvious intoxication. According to the
National Safety Council, the percentage
of alcohol accidents" has been increas-
ing steadily, and the figures ''corroborate
the observations of police and motor
vehicle administrators throughout the
country that the drinking df not the
drunken) driver and pedestrian have
come to play an increasing part in the
traffic accident problem"
Drunken driving is on the increase and
continues to be a serious traffic menace.
Nothing is gained by minimizing that
fact. Something is to be gained by con-
tinued strict enforcement of the law
and the development of more scientific
method of reporting traffic accidents, or
traffic violations, in which the drinking
driver" figures.
Mr.. Offutt's strong plea for effective
temperance education and his denunci-
alton of the evil of intoxication could
well be coupled with continued agitation
for effective police action against drink
ing drivers" as we'll as drunken drivers"
The gravity of the drinking driver"
problem cannot be minimized.