2012 marked the first year the United States saw an increase in traffic accidents and deaths after six consecutive years of declining numbers. In 2012, the nation lost 33,561 people in traffic accidents, up from 32,479 in 2011. Driving is already a very dangerous activity, but once a disabled person decides to get behind the wheel, the likelihood of an accident increases dramatically. increased, and the number of deaths will continue to rise. To reduce the number of road deaths, we need to address the many ways that driving and judgment are impaired. The first is alcohol and its effects on drivers. Alcohol is one of the reasons why many drivers suffer. It acts as a central nervous system depressant and works to slow down the brain and nervous system. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 10,000 people died due to drunk driving in 2010. This equates to one death every fifty-one minutes. However, driving under the influence of alcohol doesn't just affect people old enough to drink or abuse it. Of the 1,210 road deaths among children aged 0 to 14 in 2010, 211 (seventeen%) involved drivers with alcohol impairment. A fatal crash is considered alcohol-related by the NHTSA if a driver or non-occupant (e.g., pedestrian) had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) greater than or equal to 0.01 g/dL in a reported traffic crash to the police. This means there may have been many more alcohol-related deaths that are not being accounted for because they were not reported to the police. BAC is a way of measuring the amount of alcohol in a person's bloodstream. In the United States, BAC is measured by dividing grams of alc... half of a sheet of paper... the question is whether an elderly person should continue to drive or not. These include getting lost on what should be familiar roads, slower reaction times and severe hearing loss, such that they cannot hear emergency vehicles. In 2011, 5,402 people aged 65 and older were killed and 185,000 were injured in traffic accidents. These older individuals made up 17% of all traffic fatalities and 8% of all people injured in traffic accidents during the year. Compared to 2010, deaths among people aged 65 and over and injuries in this age group decreased by 2%. Although there are elderly drivers on the roads who shouldn't be driving, it can be a very difficult topic to raise. For many, taking away their driving license means taking away their freedom. As the rate of fatalities and accidents continues to increase, many options have been addressed to protect drivers.