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Drinking and Driving
Impairment Begins With the First Drink: For Safety's Sake, Never Drive After Drinking!
- Alcohol was involved in 39 percent of fatal crashes in 2004.
- Alcohol-related highway crashes are the leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults in the United States.
- The rate of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes is about 3 times as high at night as during the day (60 percent versus 18 percent).
Know the Facts
Since 1980, more than 100,000 lives have been saved through increased awareness and legislation related to alcohol-impaired driving. Still, impaired driving exacts too great a toll on American families. Here are the facts according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
- More than 250,000 deaths (source MADD)
- About 3 in 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives.
- The 17,419 fatalities in alcohol-related crashes during 2002 represent an average of 1 alcohol-related fatality every 30 minutes.
The 16,694 fatalities in alcohol-related crashes during 2004 represent an average of 1 alcohol-related fatality every 31 minutes.
Reference: In 2004, 42,636 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes and 16,694, or 39%, of these were alcohol-related. Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and nonfatally injure someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2004).
- More than 258,000 persons were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present—an average of 1 person injured approximately every 2 minutes.
In 2004, an estimated 13.5 percent of persons aged 12 or older (32.5 million persons) drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year.
Approximately 1.5 million drivers were arrested in 2002 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of 1 for every 130 licensed drivers in the United States. (NHTSA, 2004)
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