Drunk Driving Accident Statistics

Drunk driving continues to be one of the leading causes of accidents, and anyone who causes a drunk driving accident that results in the injury or death of another person can be held liable in a personal injury lawsuit. The following information and statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration highlight just how dangerous driving under the influence can be!

• In 2008 (the most recent data available from the NHTSA), there were 11,773 fatalities in accidents caused by drivers with a BAC of .08 percent or more. This accounts for 32% of all traffic fatalities for the entire year.
• The above figure represents, on average, one alcohol-related fatality every 45 minutes.
• Of the 11,773 people who died in alcohol-related accidents, 8,027 were drivers with a BAC of .08 or more. The rest were occupants in other vehicles (26%), and non-occupants (6%), such as pedestrians or bicyclists.
• In 2008, 216 children were killed in alcohol-involved accidents, and of those 216 children, 99 were occupants in a vehicle being driven by someone whose BAC was .08 or more.
• The rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes was four times higher at night than during the day
• In terms of age group, the highest percentage of drivers in fatal accidents who had a BAC of .08 or more were people between the ages of 21 to 24 at 34%, followed by people between the ages of 25 and 35 at 31%.
• Drivers with a BAC of .08 or higher involved in fatal accidents were eight times more likely to have a prior DUI or DWI conviction than drivers with no alcohol (8% and 1%, respectively).
• In 2008, there were 7,378 drivers involved in fatal crashes who had BAC of .15 or greater