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B B B &1 B B B . . . . . . ÿÿÿÿ 0:00:02.500,0:00:03.990 The most recent wrong
0:00:03.990,0:00:08.900 way crash on an interstate has taken the lives
of an eighteen-year-old Las Vegas girl in
0:00:08.900,0:00:14.259 one car and the twenty eight-year-old driver
of the other car, who is suspected of having
0:00:14.259,0:00:16.269 been drunk behind the wheel.
0:00:16.269,0:00:21.869 The office of the medical investigator will
determine whether alcohol did in fact play a role.
0:00:21.869,0:00:27.130 The crash came just days before Office of
the Medical Investigator released a detailed study
0:00:27.130,0:00:32.550 of auto fatalities in new Mexico. It’s not
a pretty picture. On the line is Sarah
0:00:32.550,0:00:35.240 Lathrop of the medical investigator’s office,
0:00:35.240,0:00:41.890 who is the lead author of that report published
in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. Tell us
0:00:41.890,0:00:43.010 uh
0:00:43.010,0:00:45.340 tell us what you found.
0:00:45.340,0:00:49.290 Lathrop; Unfortunately I don't think it would
be a surprise to anyone that when we plot the
0:00:49.290,0:00:52.910 data on wrong way collisions on interstates
here in new Mexico
0:00:52.910,0:00:58.580 the primary factor is alcohol. About sixty
percent of the fatal crashES can be directly
0:00:58.580,0:01:00.800 attributed to alcohol.
0:01:00.800,0:01:05.860 Not just at point oh eight but
usually two or three times the legal level
0:01:05.860,0:01:07.500 of intoxication …
0:01:07.500,0:01:12.570 going up the wrong way on the entrance ramps…
driving up an exit ramp getting on the interstate
0:01:12.570,0:01:13.710 going the wrong way
0:01:13.710,0:01:17.590 and then colliding into someone who was traveling
in the correct direction. There
0:01:17.590,0:01:20.710 are some cases where with perhaps a medical
problem
0:01:20.710,0:01:25.100 or some confusion about the signage but
in sixty percent of these cases
0:01:25.100,0:01:28.550 it was due to to alcohol and that compares
to
0:01:28.550,0:01:32.530 forty six percent of all fatal crashes that
we see in state and that compares to forty
0:01:32.530,0:01:35.730 one percent the nationally … so much higher
0:01:35.730,0:01:38.760 Than what we see elsewhere.
0:01:38.760,0:01:43.380 Question: there had been some reports recently
that New Mexico’s drunk driving fatality rate
had
0:01:43.380,0:01:45.130 gotten better.
0:01:45.130,0:01:50.710 A: When you look at it on a year-to-year
Basis (this study ended in 2004)
0:01:50.710,0:01:55.540 since then the numbers have
actually gone down
0:01:55.540,0:01:59.960 but when we look at that percentage of cases
where it's attributable to alcohol
0:01:59.960,0:02:05.020 we're still higher than the national average
unfortunately -- when you look at fatalities.
0:02:05.020,0:02:09.679 Q: Your report shows that this seven percent
are the result of wrong way
0:02:09.679,0:02:13.139 driving on interstates. Isn’t that true?
0:02:13.139,0:02:17.440 A: Correct. We pulled those out of all fatalities
on the interstates
0:02:17.440,0:02:19.599 during 1990 through 2004.
0:02:19.599,0:02:24.129 q.: It's a big number but still not as big
as many people might think given the frequency
0:02:24.129,0:02:25.819 we hear about.
0:02:25.819,0:02:30.389 Exactly. The horrific crashes tend to
Be high profile with a lot of
0:02:30.389,0:02:33.269 loss of life in the vehicles involved.
0:02:33.269,0:02:37.139 One of the things that prompted us
to do this study was trying to figure out
0:02:37.139,0:02:38.230 exactly
0:02:38.230,0:02:44.069 how big the extent of the problem actually
is and as you say it’s seven percent of the total
0:02:44.069,0:02:45.449 interstate fatalities
0:02:45.449,0:02:48.040 but then when you look at the larger
context of
0:02:48.040,0:02:50.099 the fatalities that
0:02:50.099,0:02:54.519 are caused by DWI, it really helps make
an argument for more funding for DWI
0:02:54.519,0:02:59.829 prevention programs. Q: So it’s a larger
percent of DWIs but a smaller percentage
0:02:59.829,0:03:00.499 of overall
0:03:00.499,0:03:03.040 fatalities on the highway?
0:03:03.040,0:03:07.430 A: Correct and I think
that they can be very high-profile to very
0:03:07.430,0:03:08.230 Very horrific
0:03:08.230,0:03:10.869 And the imagery from them is
0:03:10.869,0:03:12.179 very compelling.
0:03:12.179,0:03:16.179 You know both vehicles tend to be
traveling at a very high rate
0:03:16.179,0:03:21.349 of speed and the rate of survival
is diminished quite. Q: When you have two cars
0:03:21.349,0:03:26.660 going seventy five miles an hour that's a
very fast collision course.
0:03:26.660,0:03:32.100 A: Absolutely and some of the crashes we
looked at were cars and coupes colliding
0:03:32.100,0:03:35.069 with much larger vehicle large that can be
0:03:35.069,0:03:39.940 An SUV or a pickup truck, or a semi where
there was an inbalance between size of the vehicles.
0:03:39.940,0:03:45.910 Q: You find, too, that most of the traffic
Fatalities were clustered around the
0:03:45.910,0:03:50.379 Albuquerque and Gallup areas. Why do youor
think that is?
0:03:50.379,0:03:54.629 Q.: I think population centers, but I’m
0:03:54.629,0:03:59.090 not sure of why I-40 rather than
I-25, although in
0:03:59.090,0:04:03.150 recent years we've been seeing of an increase
of numbers of them on I-25 0:04:03.150,0:04:03.899
as well,
0:04:03.899,0:04:07.019 but it tends to be in population centers.
0:04:07.019,0:04:09.889 Q: As far as wrong way driving goes,
0:04:09.889,0:04:15.049 do you find any correlation between the design
of the ramps and the fatalities or is
0:04:15.049,0:04:16.459 it something else --
0:04:16.459,0:04:18.189 Strictly drunk driving?
0:04:18.189,0:04:23.049 A: It’s primarily drunk driving. There are
A few design features that might help -- signage
0:04:23.049,0:04:25.870 or barriers that might
0:04:25.870,0:04:28.690 people accessing ramps going the wrong way.
0:04:28.690,0:04:30.550 But in sixty percent of the cases
0:04:30.550,0:04:35.149 I'm not sure that that would have helped with
the influence of the alcohol on the
0:04:35.149,0:04:36.040 Drivers.
0:04:36.040,0:04:38.860 And also drugs. In eleven percent of the
cases
0:04:38.860,0:04:44.710 the people who died either had ***
or on evidence of marijuana on them.
0:04:44.710,0:04:49.430 Q: What kind of solutions are you suggesting
as a result of your study?
0:04:49.430,0:04:54.459 A: Primarily it’s just another piece of
evidence Saying take a look --
0:04:54.459,0:04:58.310 While DWI crashes are going down
in last two years it is
0:04:58.310,0:05:00.229 still very much a problem
0:05:00.229,0:05:04.030 with the really high profile type
of wrongway crashes
0:05:04.030,0:05:05.330 where we need
0:05:05.330,0:05:10.830 more checkpoints, maybe better
suspension of drivers licenses when people
0:05:10.830,0:05:12.720 are driving intoxicated,
0:05:12.720,0:05:14.740 community traffic safety programs …
0:05:14.740,0:05:18.319 adding to that argument that, look, we still
have a problem here and that this is one piece
0:05:18.319,0:05:19.119 of it.
0:05:19.119,0:05:23.889 Q: And you've proven once again that New Mexico
has not gotten any better in terms
0:05:23.889,0:05:26.369 of drunk driving fatalities.
0:05:26.369,0:05:31.399 Q: Well, this study concluded in 2005
and it takes ahile to analyze the new data
0:05:31.399,0:05:33.339 and submit it and publish it,
0:05:33.339,0:05:35.660 so you know it doesn't address
0:05:35.660,0:05:38.009 recent improvements that maybe there. But
0:05:38.009,0:05:40.550 certainly looking back through our
0:05:40.550,0:05:44.509 fifteen year history from 1993 t0 2004
there’s still compelling
0:05:44.509,0:05:45.229 evidence that it is
0:05:45.229,0:05:47.209 very much a problem in our state.
0:05:47.209,0:05:51.429 Q: Indeed a sobering report. Dr. Susan Lathrop,
Many thanks.
0:05:51.429,0:05:52.209 A: Thank you.
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