Drinking and Driving


            The issue of drinking and driving has received greater attention over the last 30 years, but it’s a dangerous
            problem that still has tragic consequences for far too many people throughout the country. Here are the facts:

            • On average someone is killed by a drunk driver every 45 minutes. In 2008, an
              estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashes – a decline of 9.8
              percent from the 13,041 drunk driving related fatalities of 2007.

            • About three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at
              some time in their lives.

            • Fifty to 75 percent of drunk drivers whose licenses are suspended continue to
              drive.

            • Over 1.46 million drivers were arrested in 2006 for driving under the influence of
              alcohol or narcotics.

            • Every day, 36 people in the United States die, and approximately 700 more are
              injured in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. The
              annual cost of alcohol-related crashes total more than $51 billion.

            • In 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all
              traffic-related deaths in the United States.

            • In 2007, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. That’s less
              than one percent of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each
              year.

            • Half of the 306 child passengers, ages 14 and younger, who died in alcohol-related crashes in 2006 were riding
              with drivers who had had a BAC level of .08 or higher.

            • In 2006, 45 children, age 14 years and younger, who were killed as pedestrians or bicyclists where hit by
              alcohol-impaired drivers.



            Sources:
            Mothers Against Drunk Driving
            Centers for Disease Control and Prevention