UNM Researcher Warns of Upcoming
New Era of DWI

For Immediate Release

March 8, 2004

Contact: Linda Atkinson, Executive Director - (505) 881-1084

Demographic trends don’t bode well for DWI in the next decade, according to research completed by Jim Davis, Director of the Division of Government Research at the University of New Mexico. Davis, who has been researching traffic safety in New Mexico for 25 years, will present the results of his study Thursday April 1 at 4 p.m.

The free program, which includes a mock "Happy Hour," will be held at the Albuquerque Marriott on Louisiana. It is sponsored by the DWI Resource Center and the Behavioral Health Research Center of the Southwest.

"For the next eight to 15 years there will be a steady growth in the population between the ages of 18-34," says Davis," and people in this group historically have the highest rates of alcohol-involved crashes."

Davis says from around 1980 until 1998 the number of people in this age group was declining, but since then "we’ve turned the corner" as the sons and daughters of the baby boomers come of age. Many of the baby boomers delayed having children, which accounts for the disproportionate increase in the coming years, he says.

Davis calls the age between 18 and 34 the "party years," and says, "If you’re looking for trouble, men in the party years is where you look." To compound the problem, this younger population will be more Hispanic and Native American than in years gone by, and with higher alcohol-involved fatality rates historically in these groups, the prospect becomes even bleaker. "It’s like standing on the beach and looking up at a tidal wave coming in," says Davis.

Linda Atkinson, director of the DWI Resource Center, says that the new trend may necessitate a shift in DWI policy. "We’ll need to direct more effective messages to this young group and put public resources where they count," she says.

Jim Davis is the second vice president of the Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals. He has been providing traffic statistics to New Mexico legislators and other policy makers on topics like drive-up windows and graduated drivers licenses for 25 years. He operates a web site for the NM Traffic Safety Bureau where many of these statistics can be found.

For more information, or to reserve a spot for the April program, call Linda Atkinson at 881-1084. Davis' presentation has been video taped and is available for purchase on the DWI Resource Center website. Davis' presentation is also available for download.

The DWI Resource Center is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 New Mexico organization formed to reduce the social and economic impact of DWI through public awareness, education, prevention programs and research. The Center also provides assistance to victims and serves as a central clearinghouse for information on DWI and victims' rights.