The halving of alcohol-fuelled car crashes since the mid-1980s boosted US economic output by $20 billion, increased national income by $6.5 billion, and created 215,000 jobs in 2010, reveals an analysis of the economic impact of drink-driving, published online in the journal Injury Prevention.
In a bid to estimate the impact of alcohol-fuelled car crashes on the US economy in 2010, the researchers calculated the economic gains (and losses) resulting from the substantial fall in this type of road traffic collision since 1984-6 and the monetary costs directly incurred by employers and consumers in 2010.
The halving of alcohol-fuelled car crashes since the mid-1980s boosted US economic output by $20 billion, increased national income by $6.5 billion, and created 215,000 jobs in 2010, reveals an analysis of the economic impact of drink-driving, published online in the journal Injury Prevention.
In a bid to estimate the impact of alcohol-fuelled car crashes on the US economy in 2010, the researchers calculated the economic gains (and losses) resulting from the substantial fall in this type of road traffic collision since 1984-6 and the monetary costs directly incurred by employers and consumers in 2010.
These included medical, productivity, property damage, emergency response, crash investigation, and legal services costs. In 2010, 12% of car crashes involved alcohol. This was half the rate of 1984-6 -- a reduction that was good for the US economy, but which was not associated with a major change in alcohol sales, say the researchers.
They calculated that it boosted national economic output in 2010 by $20 billion, created 215,000 jobs, and increased national income by $6.5 billion. And it raised Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -- the monetary value of all finished goods and services produced within the US -- by $10 billion, their calculations show.
Image of man blowing into breathalyzer via Shutterstock.
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