U.S. Department of Transportation

3.7

17.0

BAC ≥ 0.08 

55.8

BAC < 0.08

21.8

Percentage of drivers involved in fatal crashes, 

by driver sex and BAC, where known D

Men

Women

Driving 

Under the 

Influence

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

(DUI) includes impairment due to alcohol, 

drugs, or both. However, most research 

concerns driving under the influence of 

alcohol. For alcohol-related DUIs, the level 

of alcohol is measured using the Blood 

Alcohol Concentration, or BAC. In 2013, 

all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 

Puerto Rico had a law that defined impaired 

driving as a BAC of 0.08 grams/deciliter 

or higher. The number of alcohol-impaired 

driving fatalities has declined over the past 

decade.D

NOTE: *Percentage breakdowns are for incidents 

where data is known. Data for 2013 unless 

otherwise indicated. Hover for data hyperlinks to 

source material.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

DUI Fatalities: D

Occupants of other 

vehicles (11%)

Passengers of impaired 

drivers (16%)

Drivers with a BAC ≥ 0.08 

(65%)

Non-occupants (8%)

>.08 

passengers 

occupants of 

other 

non-occupants 

10,076

traffic fatalities

with alcoholimpaired 

drivers

31% of all traffic fatalities involve 

alcohol-impaired drivers, a rate 

of 0.34/100 million vehicle miles traveled D

Fatalities from alcohol-impaired driving declined: D

> 2.5% from 10,336 deaths in 2012

> 23% from 13,099 deaths in 2004

all child child, impaired driver

17% of the 1,149 child traffic 

fatalities (age 0-14) involve 

drivers with a BAC ≥ 0.08 D

> Of these, 61% of children killed are 

passengers of impaired drivers

> And 15% are pedestrians or 

cyclists

passengers peds/cyclists unknown

from the NASS, a random sample of police car-crash reports

9,461 drivers involved in fatal crashes 

have a BAC ≥ 0.08*D

13.3% 30.8%

WEEKDAY

Day 22.5% Night 77.5%

vs 9.3% 46.7%

WEEKEND

13.1% 53.1%

SINGLE VEHICLE

9.4% 24.4%

MULTIPLE VEHICLE

16-24 Series1 Series2 Series3 Series4

No. of drivers

29.5%

Percentage of drivers involved in fatal crashes by 

BAC and age D

24.1%

10,000

25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

20.4% 14.0% 6.9%

25.5%

Under 21 years old

Drivers with a BAC ≥ 0.08 Drivers with a BAC < 0.08

Under 21 years old
NOTES

*Sobriety checkpoints are traffic stops where law 

enforcement officers assess the level of alcohol 

impairment of drivers.

**Often court-ordered for drivers previously 

convicted of a DUI, ignition interlocks are devices 

that prevent a car’s ignition from starting if the 

driver registers a BAC greater than 0.02 or 0.04 (by 

breathing into the device).

SOURCES

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

“Impaired Driving: Get the Facts,” Injury Prevention 

& Control: Motor Vehicle Safety, http://www.cdc.

gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaireddrv_factsheet.html

B Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United 

States, 2014, (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of 

Justice, 2015), https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/

ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014

C Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration, Results from the 2013 National 

Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of 

National Findings, (Rockville, MD: NSDUH Series 

H-48, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4863, 

2014), http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/

default/files/NSDUHresultsPDFWHTML2013/Web/

NSDUHresults2013.pdf

D U.S. Department of Transportation, “AlcoholImpaired Driving,” Traffic Safety Facts 2013, http://

www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812102.pdf

> Self-reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs 

declined 4.7% from 2002–2013 C

> 3.8%, or 9.9 million people, report driving under the 

influence of illicit drugs during the past year C

> 10.9%, or 28.7 million people, report driving under the 

influence of alcohol during the past year C

> Sobriety checkpoints may reduce alcohol-related 

crashes by 9%*A

> Ignition interlocks decrease arrests for impaired driving 

by an estimated 70%**A

> Only 1% of the 121 million self-reported episodes of 

alcohol-impaired driving in 2012 resulted in arrest A

> 18% of motor-vehicle driver deaths involved drivers under 

the influence of drugs other than alcohol A

Property crime

Drug abuse

violations

DUI

Other assault

11,205,833 total arrests: B

DUIs (10.0%)

Drug abuse violations (13.9%)

Property crimes (27.7%)

Other assaults (9.8%)

Violent crimes (8.9%)

Other arrests (29.7%)

1,117,852

DUI arrests

The number of arrests for driving under 

the influence declined 18.5%

from 2010–2014B

men women

Of DUI arrestees: B

Women (25.1%)

Men (74.9%)

Driving Under the Influence continued

CDC SAMHSA (self-reports)

FBI (2014 data)

Drivers with a BAC < 0.08

27.2% of 

motorcycles

Fatal crashes by vehicle type: D

Drivers with a BAC ≥ 0.08

22.9% of 

passenger cars

21.4% of 

light trucks

2.4% of 

large trucks lg truck unimpaired lg truck unimpaired 

lg truck unimpaired lg truck unimpaired 

348.6/100,000 people are charged 

with driving under the influenceB