55. The Perils of Drunk Walking

[0] From APM, American Public Media and WNYC, this is Freakonomics Radio on Marketplace.

[1] Here's the host of Marketplace, Jeremy Hobson.

[2] It's Freakonomics time.

[3] Every two weeks, we explore the hidden side of everything.

[4] And today, why the first decision you make in 2012 is riskier than you think.

[5] Here's Stephen Dubner.

[6] Happy New Year, everybody.

[7] Now, how are you getting home from that party?

[8] If you're in New York City where I live, good luck getting a taxi.

[9] And if you've had some champagne and you're even thinking about driving home, well, don't.

[10] Drinking and driving is not only against the law, but it can also be dead on over the limit under arrest.

[11] Friends, don't let friends drive drunk.

[12] All right, so maybe you'll walk home.

[13] Smart move, right?

[14] That's a terrible idea.

[15] Walking drunk is one of the most dangerous activities.

[16] you can engage in.

[17] That's Steve Levitt.

[18] He's my Freakonomics friend and co -author.

[19] He's also an economist at the University of Chicago.

[20] Truly, if you're faced with exactly two choices, walking drunk or driving drunk, you absolutely should drive drunk.

[21] Now, wait a minute.

[22] Levitt is not advocating that people drive drunk.

[23] We know how incredibly dangerous that is.

[24] But what about drunk walking?

[25] Is that dangerous?

[26] Consider a few numbers.

[27] In 2009, the most recent year for which we have data, about 34 ,000 people died in traffic accidents.

[28] Roughly half of them were drivers, 41 % of whom were drunk.

[29] Now, there were about 4 ,000 pedestrians killed, and 35 % of them were drunk.

[30] Here's Levitt again.

[31] For every mile walked drunk, turns out to be eight times more.

[32] dangerous than the mile driven drunk.

[33] So just to put it simply, if you need to walk a mile from a party to your home, you're eight times more likely to die doing that than if you jump behind the wheel and drive your car that same mile.

[34] Now, there are some caveats here.

[35] A calculation like this requires some assumptions because there's no government database on drunk walking.

[36] Also, people drive drunk much farther distances than they'd walk drunk.

[37] And most important, a drunk walker can't hurt or kill someone else the way a drunk driver can.

[38] That said, the death toll from drunk walking is undeniable.

[39] The danger of impaired walking is not insignificant.

[40] And certainly when it comes down to you, it's definitely significant.

[41] Thomas Esposito is a trauma surgeon at Loyola University Health System in the Chicago area.

[42] He's used to seeing a New Year's Day spike in pedestrian.

[43] who've been hit by cars.

[44] As a matter of fact, January 1st is the deadliest day of the year for pedestrians.

[45] And 58 % of the people who died were drunk.

[46] I'd rather work New Year's Eve than New Year's Day because a lot of the time on New Year's Day, that's when people start to realize someone's missing, where are they?

[47] And then they find them at the bottom of the stairs or on the side of the road injured.

[48] Esposito also has personal experience with drunk walking.

[49] A few years ago, his cousin.

[50] was hit by a car and killed while walking home from a New Year's party.

[51] He'd been drinking, thought it was better to leave his car and go home on foot.

[52] Esposito believes we've done a pretty good job getting out the don't drink and drive message, but that we could do a lot better with don't drink and walk.

[53] Here's Steve Levitt again.

[54] For 20 years, we've been told you should never, ever drive drunk.

[55] We should have been told you should never ever walk drunk and you should never ever drive drunk.

[56] because nobody thought about it when we were coming up with what was moral and immoral.

[57] Somehow now, drunk walking just can't find its way into the immoral box.

[58] So listen, have a great New Year's celebration.

[59] But if a friend has been drinking and starts reaching for the car keys or decides to set off on foot, don't let them.

[60] Because remember, friends don't let friends walk drunk.

[61] I'm Stephen Dubner for Marketplace.

[62] For old time's sake, and days gone by, for better days we knew.

[63] I drink a toast to milk, a toast to you.

[64] Stephen Dubner, our Freakonomics correspondent, he puts out a podcast too.

[65] You can get that on iTunes and hear more at Freakonomics .com.