Published June 1970 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Auto Fatalities-The Horror at Home Americans are properly appalled at the fact that the war in Southeast Asia over the last nine years has cost more than 41,000 American combat deaths. However, another tragedy which should outrage us-yet, doesn't seem to-is the slaughter on our nation's highways which annually exceeds that number. Last year, for example, 56,400 Americans died from motor vehicle accidents in this country and, during the first four months of 1970, another 15,760 were killed. The deadliness of highway travel has been such that in the 70 years following the first casualty from a "horseless carriage" in 1899, a reported 1,757,979 men, women, and children have been killed in automobile accidents. This is nearly three times the number of Americans-649,745- killed in all the wars and military actions in which the United States has been engaged. The National Safety Council reports that drinking may be a factor in as many as half of the accidents now occurring on the nation's highways. In fact, according to a study by the Department of Transportation, it is estimated that one out of every fifty drivers on the road is drunk. To combat this, better design in streets and highways, and stricter enforcement of traffic laws can help. But what is also needed is more effective licensing and testing procedures for drivers, so as to eliminate persons who drive while intoxicated. Concerning this, one possible approach practiced in England involves the use of a simple, inexpensive breath test device, called a Breathalyzer. This apparatus determines by means of chemical crystals the extent to which a driver is under the influence of alcohol. If it is shown that there is at least a specified minimum of alcoholic concentration in his blood, the driver could face a one-year driving ban, a $240 fine or even a four month prion term. In the first five months after the Breathalyzer was introduced in Britain, 799 fewer people died on the roads, and 6,293 fewer were seriously injured than for a comparable period of time during the previous year. The state of Louisiana is now working with breath tests given before arrests are made for driving while intoxicated. Keeping in mind constitutional questions that may be involved, various innovations should be considered which could lead to a reduction in the number of highway fatalities. We must strongly resolve to lessen the carnage on the nation's roads, so that the number of people becoming statistics can be sharply decreased. JUL 1 1970