DUI Nation and Local Statistics Here are a few facts about DUI in our nation and in your area. Learn more about drunk driving and the law.

06 Stats | DUI Stats | National Stats | Affecting the Youth

2006 NATIONAL STATISTICS

• 42,636 people were killed in traffic crashes. 
  16,694 of these fatalities were a result of
  alcohol (39% of all traffic deaths).
   
• Over 248,000 people suffered injuries in
  alcohol-related collisions.
   
• In 2004, 21% of traffic fatalities
  among children age 14 and younger (442 in total) occurred
  in crashes involving alcohol.  Of those 442
  fatalities, approximately half (220 children)
  were passengers in vehicles with drivers who
  had been drinking.
   
• Drivers aged 21 to 24 accounted for the highest percentage of drivers with BAC levels of .08 or higher (32%). 
   
• Safety belts were used by only 28% of fatally
  injured drivers with BAC levels of .08 or higher.
   
• Nearly three-quarters of drivers convicted of
  driving while impaired are either frequent
  heavy drinkers, or alcoholics.
   
• For every 100,000 licensed drivers, young
  drinking drivers are involved in fatal crashes at
  twice the rate of drivers aged 21 and older.
   
  
• The rate of alcohol involvement in fatal
  crashes is more than 3 times higher at night
  than during the day (60% vs. 18%). 
   
• For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate
  was 5% during the week and 12% during the
  weekend.
   
• 30% of all fatal crashes during the week were
  alcohol-related, compared to 51% on
  weekends.
   
• Crashes involving men are more likely to be
  alcohol-related than those involving women. 
  Alcohol involvement is highest for men aged    
  21-34.
   
  
• The number of persons injured in alcohol-
  involved crashes increased by 0.7% in 2004,
  following a decrease of 2.2% in 2003, which was the first
  decrease in the past five years.

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Driving Under-the-Influence (DUI) Statistics

• The number of drunk drivers under the age of
  21 who were involved in fatal crashes dropped
  by 62% from 1982.
   
• More than two-thirds of the youth motor
  vehicle occupant fatalities did not use a seat
  belt or motorcycle helmet.
   
• Most youth motor vehicle fatalities occurred in
  June and July.
   
• 77% of youth alcohol-related fatalities were
  males.
   
• 34 states and the District of Columbia have a
  .08 BAC per se law.   President Clinton signed
  legislation that will require each state to pass
  .08 BAC limit laws by October 2003 or lose a
  portion of their federal highway funds. 
   
• Even at a BAC as low as .02 percent, driving ability is affected and the likelihood of having an accident increases. The probability of crashing increases significantly at .05 percent BAC and climbs rapidly after .08 percent BAC.
   
• 31% of all traffic fatalities occurred in crashes
  where the driver or non-occupant had a BAC
  of 0.10 or greater.
   
• 22% of all drivers and 14% of drivers under 21
  involved in fatal crashes had a BAC result of
  .15 or higher.
   
• High BAC drivers (.15 or above) accounted for
  more than half of all alcohol-related traffic
  fatalities.
   
  
• The average age of an arrested DUI offender
  in 2004 was 33.2 years.  Less than 1% of
  arrested DUI offenders are juveniles (under
  age 18).
   
• In 1990, California implemented a mandatory
  driver’s license suspension law for drunk
  drivers, also know as “admin per se.”
   
• In Fiscal Year 2004-2005, 184,324 licenses
  were suspended as a result of “admin per se”.

More National Statistics

• About 3 in every 10 Americans will be involved in
  an alcohol-related crash at some time in their
  lives.  
• An alcohol-related motor vehicle crash
  kills someone every 31 minutes and injures
  someone every 2 minutes. 
• Traffic crashes are the greatest single cause of death for every age between the ages of 3 and 33. 
• Beyond the tragedy of lost lives and painful
  recovery from injuries, alcohol-related accidents
  exact a huge economic cost. In 2002, the financial costs associated with alcohol-related
  crashes in the U.S. were estimated at $51 billion
  annually.
• In 2002, the financial costs associated with alcohol-related
  crashes in the U.S. were estimated at $51 billion
  annually.
   
  

How does the DUI problem affect young people?

• The alcohol-related traffic fatality rate for youths
  has been cut by over half since 1988.  However,
  youths are still over-represented in fatal crashes,
  compared to the older population.  In 2004, 21
  percent of the children under age 15 killed in
  crashes were killed in alcohol-related crashes.
   
• The percentage of alcohol-related fatalities
  has declined from 60 percent in 1982 to
  39 percent in 2004.
  
  
• Male drivers involved in fatal motor
  vehicle crashes are almost twice as likely
  as female drivers to be intoxicated, with a
  BAC of .08 percent or greater.