From
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/1098894305.html
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) falsely reports that there were 17,419 drunk driving fatalities in 2002. 2 That’s a gross distortion. In reality, NHTSA estimates that there were that number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Only a minority of alcohol-related fatalities are drunken driving fatalities. Of course, any alcohol-related traffic injury or death is one too many.
Nationally, 12.8% of all drivers involved in fatal accidents during 2001 are known to have been intoxicated according to the BAC laws (.10 or .08) of their state at that time. This number is based on a systematic examination of the official records of each and every accident involving a fatality during that year in the US. It is based on factual evidence rather than on estimates or even guesses. 3
The higher number (about 40%) generally reported refers to accidents in which there was believed to have been some alcohol consumed by anyone associated with the accident. For example, if a person who was believed to have consumed any alcohol is stopped at a red light and is rear-ended by an inattentive completely sober driver, that accident is considered to be alcohol-related.
For More, Visit:
Alcohol-Related Doesn’t Equal Alcohol-Caused
The federal agency converts estimates of alcohol-related traffic fatalities into reports of drunk driving deaths. By equating "alcohol-related" with "drunk driving," NHTSA distorts the extent of the problem with impaired motorists, creating an impression of widespread drunk driving that isn't factually supportable -- but which is used with great effectiveness for propaganda purposes by temperance-oriented groups.
Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced an alleged breakthrough in research on alcohol policy. According to the DOJ, a comparison of drinking rates among American and European teenagers proved that those in Europe, with its generally more moderate alcohol attitudes and laws, lead to more alcohol problems. (A)
Yet even a quick analysis of the DOJ’s report reveals that it does not stand up to scrutiny. The report never went through peer reviews, the process in which other researchers evaluate a study’s legitimacy before it can get published. In fact, the DOJ report was never published. The Department used outdated survey numbers even though newer ones were available, and its European figures left out several important countries.
What’s more, even the numbers the Department did use don’t back up its claims. American teenagers had a higher rate of intoxication than did their counterparts in half of the European countries. When compared with teenagers in Southern Europe, which has very liberal views and practices regarding alcohol, American teenagers were more likely to have been drunk in the last 30 days (21 percent vs. 13 percent). And while more than half of the American teenagers who drank reported getting drunk, less than a fourth of young Southern Europeans said they had been intoxicated.
