Recommendation for Use of Mass Media Campaigns to Reduce Alcohol-Impaired Driving Task Force on Community Preventive Services

Motor vehicle–related injuries kill more children and young adults than any other single cause in the United States, and are the leading overall cause of injury deaths for all ages. 1 In 2002, alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes resulted in 17,419 deaths and more than 300,000 injuries. 2 Each year, these crashes result in more than $50 billion in economic costs. 3 The accompanying systematic review 4 found strong evidence that mass media campaigns are effective in reducing alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes (i.e., those in which the driver had a blood alcohol concentration [BAC] of at least 0.01 g/dL) if they are carefully planned, well-executed, and attain adequate audience exposure, and if they are implemented in conjunction with other ongoing prevention activities, such as enforcement of laws against alcoholimpaired driving. Based on this evidence, the Task Force on Community Preventive Services (the Task Force) recommends that mass media campaigns that meet these criteria be implemented to reduce alcoholimpaired driving and its consequences. Such campaigns can be effective whether they focus on publicizing existing laws and enforcement activities or on the health and social consequences of alcohol-impaired driving. In addition to recommending mass media campaigns, the Task Force has previously recommended five other approaches to preventing alcohol-impaired driving: sobriety checkpoints, 0.08 blood alcohol concentration laws, minimum legal drinking age laws