Aggressive measures to counter drunk-driving in Michigan are showing results.

Alcohol-related injury crashes in Michigan have plummeted 38 percent -- 6,485 in 2001 to 4,007 in 2010, according to audit information analyzed in an article in today's Detroit News.

Fatal crashes attributed to drunk driving have also declined, according to the report. In 2001, Michigan had 419 deaths from alcohol-related car accidents. Last year, that number dropped to 264.

The numbers are even down during holidays like Christmas, New Year's and the Fourth of July.

Oakland and Wayne Counties each showed a 42% decrease in alcohol-related crashes resulting in injury from 2001 to 2010. Macomb County also posted a 31% decrease in the same ten-year period.

Dec. 26, Detroit News: "It's not one particular thing," said Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for the Michigan State Police's Office of Highway Safety Planning in Lansing. The federally funded agency works to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on the state's roadways. "It's a combination of things," she said. "Some of it is due to a decrease in overall crash fatalities, some of it is due to people making smarter decisions; vehicles have better safety features and the roadways have improved."

Alcohol-related crashes are on the decline across the nation. The National Highway Safety Administration reports that fatalities from drunk-driving accidents dropped 4.9 percent in 2010 from the year before, to 10,228.