Sunday liquor sales mean more Sunday crashes, study indicates

Alcohol-related crashes increased 29 percent and alcohol-related crash fatalities rose 42 percent on Sundays after New Mexico approved Sunday package liquor sales, a new study found.

The increase translates to an additional 543 crashes and 42 deaths since the ban on the Sunday sales ended five years ago, according to the study released by the Behavioral Health Research Center of the Southwest.

The study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Substance Abuse Policy Research Program, compared the five years before and after the Sunday ban was repealed. The authors said they took into account historical trends, holidays and seasons of the year to make sure changes were not attributable to other patterns of risk.

“For the first time, we have real data and whether blue laws actually protect public health,” said the center’s Garnett McMillan, a study co-author. “Today’s study finds that the Sunday ban saved lives and prevented hundreds of injuries and fatalities from alcohol-related crashes.”

The study, published in the online version of the American Journal of Public Health, found a “unique rise” in crashes and fatalities on Sundays after the repeal. No other day of the week showed statistically significant changes.

Linda Atkinson of the Albuquerque-based DWI Resource Center, which opposed Sunday sales, said she wasn’t surprised that crashes and deaths went up, but added, “It’s astounding it increased that much.”

Before July 1995, Sunday liquor package sales were banned in New Mexico, although bars and restaurants could sell liquor by the drink. Supporters argued that allowing Sunday package sales would reduce bootlegging and drunken driving.

The DWI Resource Center asked then-Gov. Gary Johnson to veto the repeal, believing it would increase deaths, Atkinson said. However, Johnson signed the bill.

Now, she said, her group might ask the Legislature whether Sunday sales should be continued.

“The thing we know is accessibility and availability of alcohol increases alcohol incidents, and that includes crashes. … Now the study’s there to prove that,” Atkinson said.

She said her group’s analysis of crashes found that “Sundays are significantly high,” and law enforcement agencies generally don’t patrol on Sundays as heavily as they should.

Atkinson suggested that if sales continue, liquor excise taxes should be spent to fund more police officers to work Sundays.

The National Highway Traffic Administration ranked New Mexico No. 8 in the nation for alcohol-related traffic fatalities per vehicle-mile driven.

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