Blood Alcohol Concentration and Fatalities

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Drivers convicted of DUI/DWI have an average blood alcohol concentration of .16 to .18 g/dL at the time of arrest.

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Compared with a nondrinking driver, the relative risk of a single-vehicle fatal crash is 382 times higher for a driver with a BAC of .15 g/dL or higher. In fact, one study found that each .02 increase in the BAC of a driver more than doubled the risk of male drivers age 16 to 29 being killed in a single-vehicle crash.

A recent study by McCartt, Shabanova, and Berning (2002) notes that as of March 2001, 29 States had provisions for stronger sanctions for offenders with relatively higher BACs. Although more severe sanctions for high BAC offenders are becoming more common, only one evaluation of the effectiveness of these sanctions on DWI recidivism has been completed (McCartt and Northrup, 2004). That study found that first offenders arrested in 1998 in Minnesota (the first year of that State’s high-BAC law) who had BACs of .20 or higher had significantly lower recidivism rates than comparable offenders not subject to enhanced penalties.

Sources:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A Guide to Sentencing DWI Offenders, 2005.
McCartt, A. T.; Shabanova, V.; and Berning, A. Effects of enhanced sanctions for higher BACs. In D. R. Mahew and C. Dussault (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (Vol. 2, pp. 617-622). Montréal, Canada: Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, 2002b.
McCartt, A.T. and Northrup, V.S. Enhanced Sanctions for Higher BACs: Evaluation of Minnesota’s High-BAC Law. DOT HS 809 677. Washington DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2004
Zador, P.; Krawchuck, S.; and Moore, B. Drinking and driving trips, stops by police, and arrests: Analyses of the 1995 national survey of drinking and driving attitudes and behavior. DOT HS 809 184. Washington DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2000, Dec.
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