Impaired Driving: Get the Facts

Every day, 29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.¹ This is one death every 50 minutes.¹ The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $44 billion.²

Thankfully, there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving.

How big is the problem?

In 2016, 10,497 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for 28% of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.¹
Of the 1,233 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2016, 214 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.¹
In 2016, more than 1 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.³ That’s one percent of the 111 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year (figure below).
Drugs other than alcohol (legal and illegal) are involved in about 16% of motor vehicle crashes.⁴
Marijuana use is increasing and 13% of nighttime, weekend drivers have marijuana in their system.⁵
Marijuana users were about 25% more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers with no evidence of marijuana use, however other factors–such as age and gender–may account for the increased crash risk among marijuana users.⁴

Annual Self-reported Alcohol-impaired Driving Episodes among U.S. Adults, 1993–2014

Annual episodes in millions: 1993-123,1995-115,1997-116,1999-159,2002-159,2004-124,2006-161,2008-131,2010-112,2012-121,2014-111

Source: CDC. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 1993–2014. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/brfss
Note: The annual estimated alcohol-impaired driving episodes were calculated using BRFSS respondents’ answers to this question: “During the past 30 days, how many times have you driven when you’ve had perhaps too much to drink?” Annual estimates per respondent were calculated by multiplying the reported episodes during the preceding 30 days by 12. These numbers were summed to obtain the annual national estimates (see https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6430a2.htm).

Who is most at risk?

Young people:

At all levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), the risk of being involved in a crash is greater for young people than for older people.⁶
Among drivers with BAC levels of 0.08% or higher involved in fatal crashes in 2016, nearly three in 10 were between 25 and 34 years of age (27%). The next two largest groups were ages 21 to 24 (26%) and 35 to 44 (22%).¹

Motorcyclists:

Among motorcyclists killed in fatal crashes in 2016, 25% had BACs of 0.08% or greater.¹
Motorcyclists ages 35-39 have the highest percentage of deaths with BACs of 0.08% or greater (38% in 2016).⁷

Drivers with prior driving while impaired (DWI) convictions:

Drivers with a BAC of 0.08% or higher involved in fatal crashes were 4.5 times more likely to have a prior conviction for DWI than were drivers with no alcohol in their system. (9% and 2%, respectively).¹

What are the effects of blood alcohol concentration (BAC)?

Information in this table shows the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level at which the effect usually is first observed.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)*	Typical Effects	Predictable Effects on Driving
.02% About 2 alcoholic drinks**	Some loss of judgment Relaxation Slight body warmth Altered mood	Decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of a moving target) Decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention)
.05% About 3 alcoholic drinks**	Exaggerated behavior May have loss of small-muscle control (e.g., focusing your eyes) Impaired judgment Usually good feeling Lowered alertness Release of inhibition	Reduced coordination Reduced ability to track moving objects Difficulty steering Reduced response to emergency driving situations
.08% About 4 alcoholic drinks**	Muscle coordination becomes poor (e.g., balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing) Harder to detect danger Judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory are impaired	Concentration Short-term memory loss Speed control Reduced information processing capability (e.g., signal detection, visual search) Impaired perception
.10% About 5 alcoholic drinks**	Clear deterioration of reaction time and control Slurred speech, poor coordination, and slowed thinking	Reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately
.15% About 7 alcoholic drinks**	Far less muscle control than normal Vomiting may occur (unless this level is reached slowly or a person has developed a tolerance for alcohol) Major loss of balance	Substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and in necessary visual and auditory information processing

*Blood Alcohol Concentration Measurement

The number of drinks listed represents the approximate amount of alcohol that a 160-pound man would need to drink in one hour to reach the listed BAC in each category.

**A Standard Drink Size in the United States

A standard drink is equal to 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol. Generally, this amount of pure alcohol is found in

12-ounces of beer (5% alcohol content)
8-ounces of malt liquor (7% alcohol content)
5-ounces of wine (12% alcohol content)
1.5-ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof (40% alcohol content) distilled spirits or liquor (e.g., gin, rum, vodka, whiskey)

Adapted from The ABCs of BACpdf iconexternal icon, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2005, and How to Control Your Drinking, WR Miller and RF Munoz, University of New Mexico, 1982.

How can deaths and injuries from impaired driving be prevented?

Effective measures include:

Actively enforcing existing 0.08% BAC laws, minimum legal drinking age laws, and zero tolerance laws for drivers younger than 21 years old in all states.^4,8
Requiring ignition interlocks for all offenders, including first-time offenders.⁹
Using sobriety checkpoints.¹⁰
Putting health promotion efforts into practice that influence economic, organizational, policy, and school/community action.^11,12
Using community-based approaches to alcohol control and DWI prevention.^8,12,13
Requiring mandatory substance abuse assessment and treatment, if needed, for DWI offenders.¹⁴
Raising the unit price of alcohol by increasing taxes.¹⁵

What safety steps can individuals take?

Make plans so that you don’t have to drive while impaired by alcohol and/or drugs. For example:

Before drinking, designate a non-drinking driver when with a group.
Don’t let your friends drive while impaired.
If you have been drinking alcohol and/or using drugs, get a ride home, use a ride share service, or call a taxi.
If you’re hosting a party where alcohol will be served, remind your guests to plan ahead and designate a sober driver. Offer alcohol-free beverages, and make sure all guests leave with a sober driver.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts 2016 data: alcohol-impaired driving. U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC; 2017 Available at: https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812450external icon Accessed 16 April 2018.
Blincoe LJ, Miller TR, Zaloshnja E, Lawrence BA. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The economic and societal impact of motor vehicle crashes, 2010. (Revised). U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC; 2015. Available at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pubs/812013.pdfpdf iconexternal icon. Accessed 16 April 2018.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Department of Justice (US). Crime in the United States 2016: Uniform Crime Reports. Washington (DC): FBI; 2017. Available at https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/table-18external icon. Accessed 16 April 2018.
Compton RP, Berning A. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts Research Note: drugs and alcohol crash risk. U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC; 2015 Available at: http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/812117-Drug_and_Alcohol_Crash_Risk.pdfpdf iconexternal icon. Accessed 16 April 2018.
Berning A, Compton R, Wochinger K. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Results of the 2013–2014 national roadside survey of alcohol and drug use by drivers. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, DC; 2015. Available at: https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/812118-roadside_survey_2014.pdfpdf iconexternal icon. Accessed 16 April 2018.
Zador PL, Krawchuk SA, Voas RB. Alcohol-related relative risk of driver fatalities and driver involvement in fatal crashes in relation to driver age and gender: an update using 1996 data. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 2000; 61:387-395.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts 2016 data: motorcycles. U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC; 2018. Available at: https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812492external icon. Accessed 16 April 2018.
The Community Guide. Motor vehicle-related injury prevention: reducing alcohol-impaired driving. Available at: http://www.thecommunityguide.org/mvoi/AID/index.htmlexternal icon. Accessed 16 April 2018.
The Community Guide. Reducing alcohol-impaired driving: ignition interlocks. Available at: http://www.thecommunityguide.org/mvoi/AID/ignitioninterlocks.htmlexternal icon. Accessed 16 April 2018.
The Community Guide. Reducing alcohol-impaired driving: publicized sobriety checkpoint programs. Available at: http://www.thecommunityguide.org/mvoi/AID/sobrietyckpts.htmlexternal icon. Accessed 16 April 2018.
Gielen AC, Sleet DA, DiClemente RJ. Modifying alcohol use to reduce motor vehicle injury. Injury and violence prevention: behavior science theories, methods, and applications. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006 pp 534. ISBN 978- 7879-7764-1
Holder HD, Gruenewald PJ, Ponicki WR, et al. Effect of community-based interventions on high-risk drinking and alcohol-related injuries. JAMA 2000;284:2341-7.
Shults RA, Elder RW, Nichols J, et al. Effectiveness of multicomponent programs with community mobilization for reducing alcohol-impaired driving. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 009;37(4):360-371.
Higgins-Biddle J, Dilonardo J. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Alcohol and highway safety: screening and brief intervention for alcohol problems as a community approach to improving traffic safety. U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC; 2013 DOT HS 811 836.
The Community Guide. Reducing excessive alcohol use: increasing alcohol taxes. Available at URL: http://www.thecommunityguide.org/alcohol/increasingtaxes.htmlexternal icon. Accessed 16 April 2018.

Page last reviewed: August 24, 2020, 12:00 AM

Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control