(AHN) -- A study may have proved that banning alcohol sales on Sundays saves lives.

The Behavioral Health Research Center of the Southwest in Albuquerque analyzed traffic data before and after New Mexico lifted their ban on alcohol purchasing on Sundays and found a large increase in traffic accident and related deaths after the state lifted the ban.

The state, like many others, adopted what is known as a blue law. Its intention is to encourage people to go to church. The law prohibits the sale of alcohol outside of bars and restaurants on Sundays. Now stores can sell alcohol on Sundays between the hours of noon and midnight.

After the state lifted the law in 1995 researchers found a 29 percent increase in crashes on Sundays and a 42 percent spike in traffic deaths. The group compared traffic data fro fives years before and after the repeal.

Dr. Garnett McMillan said, "By increasing the availability of alcohol on Sundays, you open the door to more opportunities for drinking and driving and the negative consequences that result."

Several other states also repealed similar laws including Delaware, Maine, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Virginia.

McMillan said, "For the first time, we have real data on whether blue laws actually protect public health."

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