AASHTO Journal - Survey: Support for Impaired-Driving Countermeasures

An annual survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety indicates that Americans strongly support a range of impaired-driving countermeasures that could significantly reduce fatalities. 

[Above photo by Maryland DOT]

AAA’s yearly Traffic Safety Culture Index examines driver attitudes, self-reported behaviors, and support for evidence-based traffic safety policies.

The group said its 2025 survey results highlight a “clear pattern” in that most Americans want stronger safeguards that prevent impaired driving – including advanced vehicle technologies and more protective legal standards. For example:

67 percent support requiring all new cars to include alcohol-impairment prevention technology. 
51 percent support lowering the legal blood alcohol content or BAC limit from 0.08 to 0.05.

“These findings show that the public is ready for stronger action,” said Gene Boehm, president and CEO of AAA, in a statement.

“People overwhelmingly want policies and technologies that prevent impaired driving, and those tools already exist. Implementing policies like the HALT Drunk Driving Law, alongside fair and effective enforcement, could save thousands of lives each year,” he added. 

[Editor’s note: Findings from a new study unveiled at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2025 in Chicago, indicated that over 40 percent of drivers who died in motor vehicle collisions tested positive for active delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC – the psychoactive chemical ingredient in cannabis or marijuana – in their system, with average blood levels far exceeding those considered to cause impairment.]

“Findings from the AAA Foundation survey give us a strong sense of what drivers see as risky, and what they want done about it,” noted Dr. David Yang, president and executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “Those insights can help safety stakeholders and policymakers focus on effective solutions with broad public support.”