Law enforcement steps up campaign on drunken driving Published Aug. 18, 2006 By 16th SFS HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- The annual National Impaired Driving Crackdown kicks off today and runs through Sept. 4. This effort helps fight impaired driving and motorcycle riding. During this period, drivers may notice stepped-up law enforcement coverage on local and national roadways to include sobriety checkpoints. Don't be alarmed, they're not targeting innocent drivers, they're targeting the impaired drivers. Here are some stone cold statistics to get people thinking before hitting the roadways, whether they're impaired or not. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving Web page, in Florida, a blood alcohol content of more than .08 is by law considered driving under the influence, while a BAC between the ranges of .05 - .079 percent is driving while impaired. - 80 percent of alcohol-related fatalities involve consumption of beer, followed by liquor or wine at 20 percent. - The average person metabolizes alcohol at the rate of one drink per hour. Only time will sober up a person. Drinking strong coffee, exercising or taking a cold shower will not help. - Alcohol-impaired driving is the most frequently committed violent crime in the United States. - Nearly 17,000 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes in 2004. - In 2004, 38 percent of all traffic fatalities in Florida and Alabama were alcohol related. - In 2001, more than 500,000 people were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present - an average of one person injured approximately every minute. - An estimated three of every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related traffic crash at some time in their lives. - Research shows that alcohol-related crashes cost the public an estimated $114.3 billion annually. - Approximately 1.4 million drivers were arrested in 2003 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of one for every 135 licensed drivers in the United States. Nearly one-third of these drivers were repeat offenders. - Forty-one percent of 1,672 motorcycle operators who died in single-vehicle crashes in 2004 had BAC levels of .08 percent or higher. - There have already been 20 DUIs involving Hurlburt Field personnel this year, please don't be next.