2011 Drunk Driving Statistics
Click here for drunk driving statistics for 2010; 2009; 2008; 2007; 2006; 2005; 2004; 2003; 2002; 2001; 2000.
All 50 states in the US and Puerto Rico now apply two statutory offenses to driving under the influence of alcohol. The first (and original) offense is known either as driving under the influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated/impaired (DWI), or operating [a motor vehicle] while intoxicated/impaired (OWI). This is based upon a police officer’s observations (driving behavior, slurred speech, the results of a roadside sobriety test, etc.)
The second offense is called “illegal per se”, which is driving with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.08 g/dL or higher. Since 2002 it has been illegal in all 50 states to drive with a BAC that is 0.08 or higher. Drivers are considered to be alcohol-impaired when their BAC is .08 or higher.
An average of one alcohol-impaired-driving fatality occurred every 53 minutes in 2011.
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In 2011, 9,878 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. These alcohol-impaired driving fatalities accounted for 31 percent of the total motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the United States.
Traffic fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes decreased by 2.5 percent from 2010.
In 2011, a total of 1,140 children age 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those 1,140 fatalities, 181 occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes.
The rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2011 was 4.5
times higher at night than during the day.
In 2011, 15 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes during the week were alcohol-impaired, compared to 31 percent on weekends.
In fatal crashes in 2011 the highest percentage of drivers with a BAC level of .08 or higher was for drivers ages 21 to 24.
The proportion of drivers involved in fatal crashes with BAC levels of .08 or higher was 24 percent among males and 14 percent among females.
The percentages of drivers involved in fatal crashes with a BAC level of .08 or higher in 2011 were 29 percent for motorcycles, 24 percent for passenger cars, and 21 percent for light trucks.
Alcohol-related deaths in the US since 1982 (these numbers will adjust on occasion as new data arrives):
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 |
41,945 | 17,380 | 41 | |
42,196 | 17,400 | 41 | |
43,005 | 17,524 | 41 | |
42,643 | 17,013 | 40 | |
42,518 | 16,919 | 39 | |
43,443 | 16,885 | 39 | |
42,532 | 15,829 | 37 | |
41,059 | 15,387 | 37 | |
37,261 | 13,846 | 37 | |
33,808 | 12,744 | 38 | |
32,885 | 10,228 | 31 | |
2011 | 32,367 | 9,878 | 38 |
2012 | xxx | xxx | xxx |
2013 | xxx | xxx | xxx |
Drinking and driving fatalities by state in 2011 (ranked by highest number of alcohol-related* deaths):
State | Total Fatalities | Alcohol-Related
| |
Number | Percent | ||
| Texas | 2,998 | 1,450 | 48% |
| California | 2,715 | 924 | 34% |
| Florida | 2,445 | 751 | 31% |
| Pennsylvania | 1,324 | 502 | 38% |
| North Carolina | 1,319 | 453 | 34% |
| Georgia | 1,244 | 346 | 28% |
| New York | 1,200 | 428 | 36% |
| Ohio | 1,080 | 413 | 38% |
| Tennessee | 1,031 | 340 | 33% |
| Michigan | 942 | 285 | 30% |
| Illinois | 927 | 366 | 40% |
| Alabama | 862 | 314 | 36% |
| Missouri | 819 | 313 | 38% |
| South Carolina | 810 | 410 | 51% |
| Arizona | 762 | 231 | 30% |
| Kentucky | 760 | 210 | 28% |
| Indiana | 754 | 220 | 29% |
| Virginia | 740 | 253 | 34% |
| Louisiana | 710 | 280 | 39% |
| Oklahoma | 668 | 248 | 37% |
| Mississippi | 641 | 259 | 40% |
| Wisconsin | 572 | 240 | 42% |
| Arkansas | 563 | 196 | 35% |
| New Jersey | 556 | 187 | 34% |
| Maryland | 493 | 188 | 38% |
| Washington | 458 | 194 | 42% |
| Colorado | 448 | 142 | 32% |
| Kansas | 431 | 192 | 45% |
| Minnesota | 411 | 135 | 33% |
| Iowa | 390 | 103 | 26% |
| New Mexico | 346 | 121 | 35% |
| Connecticut | 319 | 138 | 43% |
| Oregon | 317 | 91 | 29% |
| West Virginia | 315 | 101 | 32% |
| Massachusetts | 314 | 141 | 45% |
| Nevada | 257 | 85 | 33% |
| Utah | 236 | 49 | 21% |
| Idaho | 209 | 82 | 39% |
| Nebraska | 190 | 59 | 31% |
| Montana | 189 | 84 | 44% |
| Maine | 161 | 48 | 30% |
| Wyoming | 155 | 59 | 38% |
| South Dakota | 140 | 46 | 33% |
| New Hampshire | 128 | 53 | 42% |
| Hawaii | 113 | 48 | 42% |
| North Dakota | 105 | 51 | 48% |
| Delaware | 101 | 43 | 42% |
| Vermont | 71 | 25 | 35% |
| Rhode Island | 66 | 30 | 45% |
| Alaska | 56 | 17 | 31% |
| Dist of Columbia | 24 | 9 | 35% |
| National | 32,885 | 11,948 | 36% |
| Puerto Rico | 340 | 120 | 35% |
The table below shows alcohol-impaired** motor vehicle fatalities in the US for 2008.
| State | Total Fatalities* | BAC=.08+ | |
| Number | Number | Percent | |
| Texas | 3,071 | 1,235 | 40% |
| California | 3,081 | 950 | 31% |
| Florida | 2,558 | 770 | 30% |
| Pennsylvania | 1,256 | 406 | 32% |
| South Carolina | 894 | 377 | 42% |
| North Carolina | 1,314 | 363 | 28% |
| Georgia | 1,284 | 331 | 26% |
| Ohio | 1,021 | 324 | 32% |
| New York | 1,156 | 321 | 28% |
| Illinois | 911 | 319 | 35% |
| Tennessee | 989 | 303 | 31% |
| Missouri | 878 | 300 | 34% |
| Louisiana | 821 | 295 | 36% |
| Alabama | 848 | 280 | 33% |
| Michigan | 871 | 246 | 28% |
| Virginia | 757 | 243 | 32% |
| Oklahoma | 738 | 235 | 32% |
| Mississippi | 700 | 234 | 33% |
| Arizona | 807 | 219 | 27% |
| Wisconsin | 561 | 213 | 38% |
| Indiana | 693 | 210 | 30% |
| Washington | 492 | 206 | 42% |
| Kentucky | 791 | 194 | 25% |
| Arkansas | 585 | 168 | 29% |
| Maryland | 547 | 162 | 30% |
| Colorado | 465 | 158 | 34% |
| Kansas | 386 | 154 | 40% |
| New Jersey | 583 | 149 | 25% |
| Oregon | 377 | 115 | 30% |
| West Virginia | 356 | 115 | 32% |
| New Mexico | 361 | 114 | 32% |
| Minnesota | 421 | 108 | 26% |
| Massachusetts | 334 | 108 | 32% |
| Connecticut | 223 | 99 | 44% |
| Iowa | 372 | 96 | 26% |
| Montana | 221 | 81 | 36% |
| Nevada | 243 | 68 | 28% |
| Nebraska | 223 | 66 | 30% |
| Idaho | 226 | 58 | 26% |
| North Dakota | 140 | 54 | 38% |
| South Dakota | 131 | 53 | 40% |
| Hawaii | 109 | 52 | 48% |
| Maine | 159 | 47 | 29% |
| Wyoming | 134 | 47 | 35% |
| Delaware | 116 | 45 | 38% |
| Utah | 244 | 40 | 16% |
| Rhode Island | 83 | 34 | 40% |
| New Hampshire | 110 | 30 | 27% |
| Vermont | 74 | 23 | 32% |
| Alaska | 64 | 20 | 31% |
| Dist of Columbia | 29 | 10 | 35% |
| National | 33,808 | 10,839 | 32% |
| Puerto Rico | 365 | 109 | 30% |
*According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “A motor vehicle crash is considered to be alcohol-related if at least one driver or non-occupant (such as a pedestrian or pedalcyclist) involved in the crash is determined to have had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .01 gram per deciliter (g/dL) or higher. Thus, any fatality that occurs in an alcohol-related crash is considered an alcohol-related fatality. The term ‘alcohol-related’ does not indicate that a crash or fatality was caused by the presence of alcohol.”
**A driver involved in a motor vehicle crash is considered alcohol-impaired if he or she exhibits a BAC of .08 or greater.
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