According to Department of Transportation statistics, approximately one third of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States are DUI-related accidents.

A recent study commissioned by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) lends some strong insight into why that might be. Quite simply, its survey of 6,999 American drivers reveals this: Many of them drink and drive.

A great many of them, in fact. One out of five say they have turned the key and hit the road in the past year within two hours of having a drink. While that admission might not seem so bad, this one is perhaps a bit more concerning: Over 17 million Americans have driven when they thought they were legally drunk.

The study shows that behavior to be somewhat puzzling, because drinking and driving by other motorists is an action that is viewed fearfully and as a major threat to their safety by the very drivers who are doing it themselves. In other words, it's OK when I do it, but ....

Vernon Betkey, chairman of the Governors Highway Safety Association, says that, "We would cut fatalities by half if we had 100% seat-belt use and eliminated drunk driving."

The NHTSA survey suggests that, while the goal is laudable, achieving it will be flat-out difficult, owing to the drink-and-drive behavior of so many Americans. Eight percent say they have ridden in a car driven by someone they thought was drunk. Eleven percent voice their belief that they could drive safely within two hours of having five drinks.

NHTSA Administrator David Strickland sums it up: "Impaired driving," he says, "remains still a very serious problem."

Related Resource: www.usatoday.com "Government study: 1 in 2 drivers admit driving drunk" August 25, 2010