Children in Alcohol-Related Crashes

Murdering Your Own Children

Facts about Drunk Driving Injuries to Children in New Mexico

For 1990-1998 more than half the children ages 0-12 killed in NM alcohol-related crashes were in the vehicles operated by drunk drivers -- 32 of 63, 51%.
Recently riding with drunk drivers has played an increasing role in NM alcohol-related crashes, 63% for 1995-1998, versus 41% for 1990-1994.
In a typical month in New Mexico, 16 kids under age 13 are passengers in a car that crashes with an impaired driver at the wheel.
Of the drunk drivers with kids killed in the vehicles they drove, 65% were male, 35% female. 60% of the drivers survived the crash, 40% died. 75% drove passenger cars, 16% pickup trucks.
Of the kids killed, 60% of the kids were male, 40% female.
Among New Mexico counties with ten or more kids in alcohol-involved crashes in 1990-1998, the five highest-ranking counties for % injured in the drunk drivers car are Torrance, Eddy, Otero, Socorro, and Grant Counties.

Kids Ages 0-12 in NM 1990-1998 Alcohol-Related Crashes,
By Impairment of the Driver of the Vehicle the Child Occupied

County	In the Drunk Drivers' Car			In Another Vehicle			% of Total
County	Killed	Injured	Total	Killed	Injured	Total	% of Total
Bernalillo	7	178	427	15	559	1,415	30.8
Catron	0	0	0	0	1	1	0.0
Chaves	2	22	45	2	49	115	41.6
Cibola	0	27	41	0	49	80	52.7
Colfax	0	4	9	0	8	16	54.2
Curry	1	19	34	2	34	76	48.2
De Baca	0	2	7	0	2	7	100.0
Dona Ana	1	95	161	4	219	452	38.1
Eddy	1	34	61	1	50	112	58.9
Grant	0	29	49	0	51	86	56.9
Guadalupe	0	5	9	0	8	16	58.3
Harding	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hidalgo	0	4	7	0	5	8	84.6
Lea	0	16	36	4	59	136	26.1
Lincoln	1	17	23	1	25	53	51.9
Los Alamos	0	0	1	0	0	2	50.0
Luna	0	16	24	0	32	54	46.5
McKinley	0	110	184	4	238	497	39.8
Mora	1	4	6	1	8	16	44.0
Otero	2	36	50	2	52	97	58.3
Quay	0	5	10	0	12	22	44.1
Rio Arriba	2	37	57	6	99	179	33.8
Roosevelt	0	6	9	0	19	32	29.4
San Juan	4	106	209	8	216	571	40.1
San Miguel	3	21	43	4	53	105	41.4
Sandoval	0	27	59	1	52	129	47.3
Santa Fe	0	45	91	1	130	312	30.7
Sierra	0	4	8	0	11	21	37.5
Socorro	6	12	22	6	22	42	57.1
Taos	0	8	31	0	18	60	50.0
Torrance	0	7	10	0	9	15	70.8
Union	0	1	2	0	2	3	60.0
Valencia	1	24	50	1	66	176	30.9
New Mexico	32	921	1,775	63	2,158	4,906	38.3

What should you do?

Ask local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to charge any drunk driver arrested with children in the vehicle with child endangerment.
Ask your district attorney to charge any drunk driver in a crash involving children with child endangerment.
Ask law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to report instances of children riding with impaired drivers to child welfare authorities.
Ask your local child welfare authorities their policy on investigating as child abuse reports of children riding with impaired drivers.
As a citizen, monitor court hearings on any DWI case or alcohol-related crash involving children in the car.

Produced by the DWI Resource Center from databases of the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department, Traffic Safety Bureau, maintained by the University of New Mexico, Division of Government Research. 1999 data excluded due to Department problems with missing data for that year.

Last updated 11/05/00