Click here for drunk driving statistics for 2002; 2001; 2000.

Below are some statistics on drinking and driving in the US.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), alcohol related fatalities dropped significantly in 2003. But that would depend on your definition of significantly. A 2.3% drop may not qualify as significant when drunken driving deaths are still over 17,000 per year. A total of 17,013 alcohol-related fatalities were recorded in 2003.

14,630 of those people were killed in crashes that involved a driver or non-occupant with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or greater.

But there's another part to the equation. Although the ACTUAL NUMBER of drinking and driving deaths dropped by only 406, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles of travel also fell. So people are driving more and dying less.

NHTSA defines a fatal traffic crash as being alcohol-related if either a driver or a nonoccupant (e.g., pedestrian) had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.01 grams per deciliter (g/dl) or greater in a police-reported traffic crash.

Persons with a BAC of 0.08 g/dl or greater involved in fatal crashes are considered intoxicated. This is the legal limit of intoxication in all states.

Alcohol related deaths in the US since 1982:

	Total fatalities	Alcohol related fatalities
Year	Number	Number	Percent
1982	43,945	26,173	60
1983	42,589	24,635	58
1984	44,257	24,762	56
1985	43,825	23,167	53
1986	46,087	25,017	54
1987	46,390	24,094	52
1988	47,087	23,833	51
1989	45,582	22,424	49
1990	44,599	22,587	51
1991	41,508	20,159	49
1992	39,250	18,290	47
1993	40,150	17,908	45
1994	40,716	17,308	43
1995	41,817	17,732	42
1996	42,065	17,749	42
1997	42,013	16,711	40
1998	41,501	16,673	40
1999	41,717	16,572	40
2000	41,945	17,380	41
2001	42,196	17,400	41
2002	43,005	17,524	41
2003	42,643	17,013	40

Drinking and driving fatalities by state in 2003 (ranked by highest number of alcohol related deaths):

State	Total Fatalities	Number Alcohol-Related Fatalities	Percent Alcohol-Related Fatalities
Texas	3,675	1,709	47
California	4,215	1,626	39
Florida	3,169	1,274	40
Illinois	1,453	639	44
Pennsylvania	1,577	618	39
North Carolina	1,531	554	36
New York	1,491	529	35
Missouri	1,232	504	41
Georgia	1,603	488	30
South Carolina	968	488	50
Michigan	1,283	481	37
Arizona	1,120	470	42
Ohio	1,277	467	37
Tennessee	1,193	447	37
Alabama	1,001	415	41
Louisiana	894	406	45
Wisconsin	848	387	46
Virginia	943	364	39
Mississippi	871	320	37
Maryland	649	281	43
Kentucky	928	276	30
New Jersey	747	275	37
Minnesota	657	267	41
Indiana	834	262	31
Washington	600	259	43
Oklahoma	668	255	38
Arkansas	627	254	41
Colorado	632	246	39
Oregon	512	207	40
Massachusetts	462	207	45
Kansas	471	206	44
New Mexico	439	198	45
Nevada	368	182	50
West Virginia	394	148	37
Iowa	441	145	33
Connecticut	294	131	45
Montana	262	128	49
Nebraska	293	121	41
Idaho	293	107	37
South Dakota	203	98	48
Maine	207	75	36
Hawaii	135	72	53
Wyoming	165	62	38
Delaware	142	60	42
Rhode Island	104	57	55
New Hampshire	127	52	41
North Dakota	105	52	50
Utah	309	46	15
Alaska	95	35	37
Dist of Columbia	67	34	50
Vermont	69	29	41
National	42,643	17,013	40
Puerto Rico	493	233	47