August 2005 A Brief Statistical Summary DOT HS 809 904

Alcohol-Related Fatalities in 2004

Traffic Safety Facts

Crash•Stats

Published by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis

Early results from the 2004 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 

show that the number of alcohol-related1 fatalities in motor vehicle traffic 

crashes declined from 2003. This is the second consecutive year in which 

alcohol-related fatalities have declined, after reaching a recent high of

17,524 in 2002. With an expected increase in vehicle miles traveled 

(VMT), the alcohol-related fatality rate per 100 million VMT will be 

0.57, the lowest recorded by the Department of Transportation. Also, 

fatalities in “high-alcohol” crashes, i.e., crashes where the highest blood 

alcohol concentration (BAC) was .08 grams per deciliter or above, also 

declined by 1.8 percent, to 14,409 fatalities.

Table 1 depicts fatalities in traffic crashes by the highest BAC in the 

crash. There were 411 fewer alcohol-related fatalities (BAC=.01+), 

a decline of 2.4 percent compared to 2003. In crashes where the 

highest BAC was .08+, there were 269 fewer fatalities, a decline of 

1.8 percent.

Table 1

Fatalities in Traffic Crashes by Highest BAC in the Crash

Description 2003 2004 Change % Change

BAC .01+ 17,105 16,694 -411 -2.4%

BAC .08+ 14,678 14,409 -269 -1.8%

Source: FARS 2003 [Final], 2004 [ARF].

Table 2 depicts the fatalities shown in Table 1 by the role of the 

person(s) who had alcohol and the highest BAC level in the crash. 

For example, Drivers Only (Drv Only) implies that driver(s) were 

the only people with alcohol, and Driver + Nonoccupant (Drv + NO)

implies both a driver and a nonoccupant had alcohol.

Table 2

Alcohol-Related Fatalities by Role of Person with Alcohol

Role of Person 

w/ alcohol

BAC = .01+ BAC = .08+

2003 2004 2003 2004

Drv Only 13,519 (79%) 13,178 (79%) 11,604 (79%) 11,406 (79%)

McO Only 1,309 (8%) 1,327 (8%) 1,075 (7%) 1,101 (8%)

Drv + McO 99 (1%) 80 (0%) 52 (0%) 42 (0%)

Drv/McO + NO 498 (3%) 460 (3%) 366 (3%) 324 (2%)

Subtotal 15,423 (90%) 15,045 (90%) 13,096 (89%) 12,874 (89%)

NO Only 1,644 (10%) 1,614 (10%) 1,548 (11%) 1,502 (10%)

Others 38 (0%) 35 (0%) 35 (0%) 33 (0%)

Total 17,105 (100%) 16,694 (100%) 14,678 (100%) 14,409 (100%)

Drv = Driver NO = Nonoccupant McO = Motorcycle Operator

Source: FARS 2003 [Final], 2004 [ARF]. Counts may not add up to totals due to

independent rounding. Percents are based on unrounded estimates.

As seen in Table 2, a majority (79 percent) of the alcohol-related 

fatalities occurred in crashes in which drivers were the only persons 

with alcohol. Additionally, about 8 percent of the alcohol-related 

fatalities occurred in crashes where the motorcycle operators were 

the only persons with alcohol. About 10 percent of alcohol-related 

fatalities occurred in crashes where nonoccupants were the only 

persons with alcohol.

Table 3 depicts the role of the people killed in alcohol-related 

crashes. About half of the fatalities occurred to drivers who 

had alcohol, and an additional 17 percent to passengers who 

were riding with them. About 12 percent of the fatalities occurred 

to nonoccupants and about 8 percent to motorcycle operators 

with alcohol. Thus, slightly more than 85 percent of the alcoholrelated fatalities occurred to drivers/motorcycle operators or 

nonoccupants with alcohol, or to people riding with these drivers/

motorcycle operators.

Table 3

Alcohol-Related Fatalities, by Role

Role 2003 2004

Num % of Total Num % of Total

Driver w/ alcohol 8,402 49% 8,199 49%

 Passengers 2,916 17% 2,763 17%

Motorcycle Operators w/ alcohol 1,271 7% 1,264 8%

 Riders 111 1% 118 1%

Nonoccupant w/ alcohol 1,969 12% 1,969 12%

Subtotal 14,669 86% 14,313 87%

Driver w/ no alcohol 1,044 6% 986 6%

 Passengers 591 3% 646 4%

Motorcycle Operators w/ no alcohol 147 1% 156 1%

Riders 17 0% 21 0%

Nonoccupant w/ no alcohol 574 3% 515 3%

 Other/Unknown 65 0% 57 0%

Total 17,105 100% 16,694 100%

Source: FARS 2003 [Final], 2004 [ARF]. Counts may not add up to totals due to 

independent rounding.

Table 4 (overleaf) shows, by State, the breakdown of total fatalities 

as well as fatalities in alcohol-related and high-alcohol crashes and 

the change in the fatalities and percent change from 2003 to 2004. 

A total of 32 States and the District of Columbia showed a decline 

in alcohol-related fatalities in 2004 from 2003 while 31 States and 

the District of Columbia showed a decline in fatalities that occur in 

high-alcohol crashes.

1Fatalities that occur in a crash involving at least one driver, pedestrian, or pedalcyclist with a BAC of .01 or above.
NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis

Table 4

Total Fatalities in Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes, Alcohol-Related Fatalities, Fatalities in High-Alcohol (BAC=.08+) 

Crashes, Change and Percent Change, 2003-2004 

State

2003 2004 2003 to 2004 Change

Total

AlcoholRelated BAC=.08+ TotalAlcoholRelated BAC=.08+ Total AlcoholRelated BAC=.08+

Num % Num % Num % Num %

Alabama 1,004 414 41% 361 36% 1,154 442 38% 394 34% 150 (14.9%) 28 (6.8%) 33 (9.1%)

Alaska 98 37 38% 33 33% 101 31 31% 30 30% 3 (3.1%) -6 (-16.2%) -3 (-9.1%)

Arizona 1,118 471 42% 411 37% 1,150 435 38% 376 33% 32 (2.9%) -36 (-7.6%) -35 (-8.5%)

Arkansas 640 252 39% 201 31% 704 276 39% 236 33% 64 (10.0%) 24 (9.5%) 35 (17.4%)

California 4,224 1,629 39% 1,377 33% 4,120 1,643 40% 1,367 33% -104 (-2.5%) 14 (0.9%) -10 (-0.7%)

Colorado 642 252 39% 228 35% 665 259 39% 225 34% 23 (3.6%) 7 (2.8%) -3 (-1.3%)

Connecticut 298 137 46% 119 40% 291 127 44% 112 38% -7 (-2.3%) -10 (-7.3%) -7 (-5.9%)

Delaware 142 61 43% 51 36% 134 51 38% 48 36% -8 (-5.6%) -10 (-16.4%) -3 (-5.9%)

Dist of Columbia 67 35 52% 31 47% 43 18 41% 12 28% -24 (-36%) -17 (-49%) -19 (-61%)

Florida 3,169 1,287 41% 1,101 35% 3,244 1,222 38% 1,053 32% 75 (2.4%) -65 (-5.1%) -48 (-4.4%)

Georgia 1,603 483 30% 416 26% 1,634 525 32% 450 28% 31 (1.9%) 42 (8.7%) 34 (8.2%)

Hawaii 133 71 53% 52 39% 142 65 46% 52 37% 9 (6.8%) -6 (-8.5%) 0 (-)

Idaho 293 106 36% 89 31% 260 93 36% 81 31% -33 (-11.3%) -13 (-12.3%) -8 (-9.0%)

Illinois 1,454 637 44% 540 37% 1,356 604 45% 517 38% -98 (-6.7%) -33 (-5.2%) -23 (-4.3%)

Indiana 833 261 31% 223 27% 947 299 32% 254 27% 114 (13.7%) 38 (14.6%) 31 (13.9%)

Iowa 443 145 33% 119 27% 390 110 28% 91 23% -53 (-12.0%) -35 (-24.1%) -28 (-23.5%)

Kansas 469 199 42% 172 37% 461 148 32% 121 26% -8 (-1.7%) -51 (-25.6%) -51 (-29.7%)

Kentucky 928 277 30% 242 26% 964 308 32% 269 28% 36 (3.9%) 31 (11.2%) 27 (11.2%)

Louisiana 940 410 44% 370 39% 904 414 46% 345 38% -36 (-3.8%) 4 (1.0%) -25 (-6.8%)

Maine 207 75 36% 69 33% 194 70 36% 58 30% -13 (-6.3%) -5 (-6.7%) -11 (-15.9%)

Maryland 650 287 44% 215 33% 643 286 45% 231 36% -7 (-1.1%) -1 (-0.3%) 16 (7.4%)

Massachusetts 462 215 47% 172 37% 476 203 43% 181 38% 14 (3.0%) -12 (-5.6%) 9 (5.2%)

Michigan 1,283 485 38% 396 31% 1,159 430 37% 367 32% -124 (-9.7%) -55 (-11.3%) -29 (-7.3%)

Minnesota 655 266 41% 223 34% 567 184 32% 170 30% -88 (-13.4%) -82 (-30.8%) -53 (-23.8%)

Mississippi 872 321 37% 291 33% 900 341 38% 317 35% 28 (3.2%) 20 (6.2%) 26 (8.9%)

Missouri 1,232 493 40% 414 34% 1,130 449 40% 388 34% -102 (-8.3%) -44 (-8.9%) -26 (-6.3%)

Montana 262 127 49% 108 41% 229 106 46% 100 43% -33 (-12.6%) -21 (-16.5%) -8 (-7.4%)

Nebraska 293 121 41% 99 34% 254 92 36% 78 31% -39 (-13.3%) -29 (-24%) -21 (-21.2%)

Nevada 368 180 49% 156 42% 395 152 39% 133 34% 27 (7.3%) -28 (-15.6%) -23 (-14.7%)

New Hampshire 127 51 40% 42 33% 171 59 35% 51 30% 44 (34.6%) 8 (15.7%) 9 (21.4%)

New Jersey 733 279 38% 238 32% 731 270 37% 227 31% -2 (-0.3%) -9 (-3.2%) -11 (-4.6%)

New Mexico 439 206 47% 176 40% 521 211 40% 185 36% 82 (18.7%) 5 (2.4%) 9 (5.1%)

New York 1,493 540 36% 470 31% 1,493 587 39% 494 33% 0 (-) 47 (8.7%) 24 (5.1%)

North Carolina 1,553 528 34% 452 29% 1,557 553 35% 496 32% 4 (0.3%) 25 (4.7%) 44 (9.7%)

North Dakota 105 53 50% 46 44% 100 39 39% 35 35% -5 (-4.8%) -14 (-26.4%) -11 (-23.9%)

Ohio 1,274 466 37% 401 31% 1,286 492 38% 418 32% 12 (0.9%) 26 (5.6%) 17 (4.2%)

Oklahoma 671 260 39% 223 33% 774 278 36% 245 32% 103 (15.4%) 18 (6.9%) 22 (9.9%)

Oregon 512 207 40% 176 34% 456 199 44% 159 35% -56 (-10.9%) -8 (-3.9%) -17 (-9.7%)

Pennsylvania 1,577 621 39% 541 34% 1,490 614 41% 541 36% -87 (-5.5%) -7 (-1.1%) 0 (-)

Rhode Island 104 59 57% 54 52% 83 42 50% 41 49% -21 (-20.2%) -17 (-28.8%) -13 (-24.1%)

South Carolina 969 490 51% 426 44% 1,046 464 44% 413 39% 77 (7.9%) -26 (-5.3%) -13 (-3.1%)

South Dakota 203 97 48% 89 44% 197 86 44% 76 39% -6 (-3.0%) -11 (-11.3%) -13 (-14.6%)

Tennessee 1,193 443 37% 398 33% 1,288 519 40% 454 35% 95 (8.0%) 76 (17.2%) 56 (14.1%)

Texas 3,821 1,771 46% 1,551 41% 3,583 1,642 46% 1,417 40% -238 (-6.2%) -129 (-7.3%) -134 (-8.6%)

Utah 309 47 15% 39 13% 296 72 24% 70 24% -13 (-4.2%) 25 (53.2%) 31 (79.5%)

Vermont 69 29 42% 21 31% 98 32 32% 20 20% 29 (42.0%) 3 (10.3%) -1 (-4.8%)

Virginia 943 367 39% 311 33% 925 359 39% 307 33% -18 (-1.9%) -8 (-2.2%) -4 (-1.3%)

Washington 600 261 43% 226 38% 563 246 44% 223 40% -37 (-6.2%) -15 (-5.7%) -3 (-1.3%)

West Virginia 394 148 38% 126 32% 411 136 33% 114 28% 17 (4.3%) -12 (-8.1%) -12 (-9.5%)

Wisconsin 848 388 46% 342 40% 792 358 45% 318 40% -56 (-6.6%) -30 (-7.7%) -24 (-7.0%)

Wyoming 165 63 38% 50 31% 164 59 36% 54 33% -1 (-0.6%) -4 (-6.3%) 4 (8.0%)

National 42,884 17,105 40% 14,678 34% 42,636 16,694 39% 14,409 34% -248 (-0.6%) -411 (-2.4%) -269 (-1.8%)

Puerto Rico 495 235 48% 185 37% 494 248 50% 221 45% -1 (-0.2%) 13 (5.5%) 36 (19.5%)

This Crash*Stats and other general information on highway traffic safety may be accessed by Internet users at: www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html