I was not a fan of the smoking bans before I heard this news, but this gives me a new reason to dislike them. An interesting study from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee finds that smoking bans lead to an increase in drunk driving fatalities. Apparently, the thesis is that people drive greater distances to patronize places where there is no such ban, thus exposing themselves (and everyone else) to greater risk of a traffic accident. Here is a snippet from an article about the study:
“Like they would to buy fireworks, lotto tickets or, in some cases, alcohol, people will often go to a neighboring jurisdiction that doesn’t have a ban,” says Adams. The number of smokers willing to drive extra distances offsets any reduction in driving from smokers choosing to stay home following a ban, he adds.
Using fatalities as a gauge in the study is more accurate than using data on DUIs, since drunk-driving laws are not uniformly enforced, he says.
The study’s evidence suggests that consumers are driving longer distances to smoke and drink, but this does not exclude other potential explanations.
“We can’t rule out the explanation that smoking bans might reduce the propensity to drink in moderation,” Adams says, “But in each and every instance of ‘border shopping’ we found, the increase in fatalities was true.”
With a new smoking ban about to go into effect in Kansas City, Missouri, and with similar bans already in effect in various cities in Kansas, it will be interesting to see if there is an increase in Kansas DUI cases or Missouri DWI cases. It is not inconceivable that some people will now drive over to Kansas City, Kansas, or to rural bars outside of cities in order to be able to smoke while they drink. This would be a tragic unintended consequence to the smoking bans.