A joint resolution to designate the week of December 11, 1983, through December 17, 1983, as "National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week".
PL 98-103 (S.J.Res.119), enacted 09/30/1983

PUBLIC LAW 98-103—SEPT. 30, 1983 
97 STAT. 725 
Public Law 98-103 
98th Congress 
Joint Resolution 
To designate the week of December 11,1983, through December 17,1983, as "National 
Sept. 30, 1983 
Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week". 
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Whereas traffic accidents result in more violent deaths in the 
United States than any other cause, over forty-four thousand in 
1982; 
Whereas traffic accidents cause thousands of serious injuries in the 
United States each year; 
Whereas more than 65 per centum of drivers killed in single vehicle 
collisions and over 50 per centum of all drivers fatally injured 
have blood alcohol concentrations above the legal limit; 
Whereas the Surgeon General has reported that life expectancy has 
risen for every age group over the past seventy-five years except 
for those fifteen to twenty-four years old, whose death rate, the 
leading cause of which is drunk driving, is higher now than it was 
twenty years ago; 
Whereas the total societal cost of drunk driving has been estimated 
at over $24,000,000,000 per year, which does not include the 
human suffering that can never be measured; 
Whereas there are increasing reports of driving after drug use and 
accidents involving drivers who have used marihuana or other 
illegal drugs; 
Where£is driving after the use of therapeutic drugs, either alone or 
in combination with alcohol, contrary to the advice of physician, 
pharmacist, or manufacturer, may create a safety hazard on the 
roads; 
Whereas more research is needed on the effect of drugs either alone 
or in combination with alcohol, on driving ability and the inci-
dence of traffic accidents; 
Whereas an increased public awareness of the gravity of the prob-
lem of drugged driving may warn drug users to refrain from 
driving and may stimulate interest in increasing necessary re-
search on the effect of drugs on driving ability and the incidence 
of traffic accidents; 
Whereas the public, particularly through the work of citizens 
groups, is demanding a solution to the problem of drunk and 
drugged driving; 
Whereas the President has appointed a Commission on Drunk 
Driving to heighten public awareness and stimulate the pursuit of 
solutions, and this Commission has provided vital recommenda-
tions for remedies for the problem of drunk driving in an interim 
report in December 1982; 
Whereas many States have appointed task forces to examine exist-
ing drunk driving programs and make recommendations for a 
renewed, comprehensive approach, and in many cases their rec-
ommendations are leading to enactment of new laws, along with 
stricter enforcement; 
97 STAT. 726 
PUBLIC LAW 98-103—SEPT. 30, 1983 
National Drunk 
and Drugged 
Driving Aware-
ness Week. 
Whereas the best defense against the drunk or drugged driver is the 
use of safety belts and greater safety belt usage would increase the 
number of survivors of traffic accidents; 
Whereas an increase in the public awareness of the problem of 
drunk and drugged driving may contribute to a change in society's 
attitude toward the drunk or drugged driver and help to sustain 
current efforts to develop comprehensive solutions at the State 
and local levels; 
Whereas the Christmas and New Year holiday period, with more 
drivers on the roads and an increased number of social functions, 
is a particularly appropriate time to focus national attention on 
this critical problem; 
Whereas designation of the week of December 12, 1982, through 
December 18, 1982, as National Drunk and Drugged Driving 
Awareness Week stimulated many activities and programs by 
groups in both the private and public sectors aimed at curbing 
drunk and drugged driving in the high-risk Christmas and New 
Year holiday period and thereafter; 
Whereas the number of traffic fatalities over the three-day New 
Year holiday in 1982 was the lowest since 1949, with 282 deaths as 
compared to 338 deaths for the same period in 1981; 
Whereas the activities and programs during National Drunk and 
Drugged Driving Awareness Week in 1982 heightened the aware-
ness of the American public to the danger of drunk and drugged 
driving and contributed to the decrease in traffic fatalities: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled. That the week of December 
11, 1983, through December 17, 1983, is designated as "National 
Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week" and the President is 
authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the 
people of the United States to observe that week with appropriate 
activities. 
Approved September 30, 1983. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S.J. Res. 119: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 129 (1983): 
July 16, considered and passed Senate. 
Sept. 15, considered and passed House.