Drunk Driving Statistics

The following drunk driving statistics are provided by PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a leading Minnesota personal injury law firm. If you have been in a car accident involving a drunk driver, contact PritzkerOlsen, P.A. for a free consultation. Please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's online consultation form for review by an attorney.

For the past 6 years, more than 17,000 people have been killed annually in alcohol-related traffic crashes. In addition, approximately 300,000 people are injured annually in alcohol-related crashes (about one injury every two minutes) (NHTSA, 2003).
DWI recidivism is high. Overall, it has been estimated that one-third of all drivers arrested, convicted, or adjudicated for DWI are repeat offenders (NHTSA, 1995). Of drivers convicted of DWI in California, for example, 44 percent were reconvicted of DWI within 10 years (Peck et al., 1994).
Of the 42,815 traffic fatalities that occurred in 2002, an estimated 17,419 (41% or one death every 33 minutes) were alcohol-related (NHTSA, 2003).
For the past 10 years, approximately 1.4 to 1.5 million drivers have been arrested annually for DWI (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2003).
Drivers convicted of DWI have an average blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .16 to .18 g/dL at the time of arrest (Perrine et al., 1988; Jones and Lacey, 2001).
In single-vehicle crashes, the relative risk of a driver with a blood alcohol concentration between .08 and .10 is at least 11 times greater than for drivers with a BAC of zero, and 52 times greater for young males. Further, many studies have shown that even small amounts of alcohol can impair a person’s ability to drive.

Every State has passed a law making it illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher. A driver also can be arrested with a BAC below .08 when a law enforcement officer has probable cause, based on the driver’s behavior. Please do not drink and drive.

Sources:

Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform crime reports: Crime in the United States - 2002. Washington, DC: Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2003.
Jones, R. K., and Lacey, J. H. Alcohol and highway safety 2001: A review of the state of knowledge. DOT HS 809 383. Springfield, VA: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2001 November.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The content below is all from A Guide to Sentencing DWI Offenders, 2005.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Repeat DWI offenders in the United States. Traffic Tech 85. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1995b.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic safety facts 2002: Alcohol. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2003.
Peck, R. C.; Wilson, R. J.; and Sutton, L. “Driver license strategies for controlling the persistent DUI offender.” Background paper, The Transportation Research Board Workshop on the Persistent Drunk Driver. Woods Hole, MA, 1994.
Perrine, M. W.; Peck, R. C.; and Fell, J. C. Epidemiologic perspectives on drunk driving. Paper presented at the U.S. Surgeon General’s Workshop on Drunk Driving, December 1988, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, (1988).

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