U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Traffic TECH

Technology Transfer Series

Number 392 August 2010

National Survey of Drinking and Driving 

attitudes and Behaviors

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

conducts the National Survey of Drinking and Driving 

Attitudes and Behaviors on a periodic basis to monitor the 

public’s attitudes, knowledge, and self-reported behavior regarding drinking and driving. The 2008 survey was 

administered by telephone to 6,999 respondents 16 and 

older, with 5,392 interviews completed with respondents 

who were using landline phones and 1,607 interviews 

completed with respondents who were using cell phones. 

The survey over-sampled teenagers and young adults 

16 to 24. Interviewing ran from September 2008 through 

December 2008.

One Out of Five Are Drinker-Drivers

Twenty percent of the public 16 and older had in the past year 

driven a motor vehicle within two hours of drinking alcohol. 

About two-thirds of these, or 13% of the total population 

16 and older had done so in the past 30 days. The survey 

produced an estimate of 85.5 million past-month drinkingdriving trips, up from 73.7 million trips in 2004 and reversing 

a declining trend in such trips since 1995. More than threefourths (78%) of the trips were made by males. 

Those who reported driving within two hours of drinking in 

the past year tended to be more frequent drinkers than did 

other drivers who drink but do not drive afterwards. More 

than one in four (28%) drinking drivers usually consumed 

alcoholic beverages 3 or more days a week, compared to 10% 

of drivers who drink but do not drink and drive. While few 

16- to 20-year-olds reported drinking and driving, those that 

did averaged 5.7 drinks per sitting during the times they 

drink alcohol (inclusive of all drinking occasions, not just 

drinking and driving). For 21- to 24-year-old drinking drivers, their average alcohol intake was 4.2 drinks per sitting. 

The average number of drinks dropped sharply again for 

25- to 34-year-old drinking drivers (3.0), then declined more 

slowly across ensuing age groups.

The survey also produced an estimate of 17.2 million drivers 

(or 8% of all drivers) having driven one or more times in the 

preceding 12 months when they thought they were over the 

legal limit for alcohol and driving. These were mostly males, 

by a more than two-to-one ratio.

Several questions in the survey were used to classify a segment of the sample as problem drinkers. Problem drinkers 

composed 22% of past-month drinking drivers, but 36% 

(or 31 million) of past-month drinking and driving trips. 

Drinking drivers who were problem drinkers were almost 

twice as likely as other drinker-drivers to report driving at 

least once in the past year when they thought they were 

over the legal limit for alcohol and driving (56% compared 

to 24%).

Riding With Unsafe Drivers in Past Year

Eight percent of the population 16 and older rode in the 

past year with a driver they thought may have consumed 

too much alcohol to drive safely. Young adult males (24%) 

were particularly at risk. Personal drinking behavior further 

defined the likelihood of riding with an impaired driver. 

Drivers who drink (10%) were about 3 times as likely as drivers who don’t drink (3%) to have ridden in the past year with 

a driver they thought had consumed too much alcohol. Nondrivers who drink (24%) were about 8 times as likely as nondrivers who don’t drink (3%) to have done so. 

Figure 1: Percent of Males Who Rode with Drivers They 

Thought May Have Had Too Much to Drink by Age

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Total 16–20 21–24 25–34 35–44 45–64 65+

8%

12%

24%

10% 11%

4%

2%
TRAFFIC TECH is a publication to disseminate information about 

traffic safety programs, including evaluations, innovative programs, and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish. If you 

would like to receive a copy, contact Angela H. Eichelberger, Ph.D., 

Editor, fax 202-366-7394, e-mail: angela.eichelberger@dot.gov.

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., NTI-132

Washington, DC 20590

Figure 3: Number of Drinks In Two Hours Before 

Unsafe to Drive

1 Drink

20%

3-4 Drinks

29%

5+

Drinks

11%

DK

3%

2 Drinks

31%

<1

6%

DK=Don’t Know <1=Less Than 1 Drink

Thirty percent of the public 16 and older had seen a sobriety 

checkpoint in the past year; 16% had gone through one. Most 

believed sobriety checkpoints should be conducted weekly 

(40%) or monthly (35%). Forty percent believed the penalties 

for violating the drinking and driving laws should be much 

more severe; 26% believed they should be somewhat more 

severe. 

Of eight anti-DWI interventions read to respondents, alcohol 

interlocks ranked highest in the percentage who said they 

would be very effective (63%). When asked if there was a 

national minimum drinking age (MDA) in the United States, 

71% said “yes.” Of those who said there was a MDA, 86% 

correctly identified it as 21.

How to Order

For a copy of National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes 

and Behaviors: 2008. Volume I: Summary. Volume II: Findings. 

Volume III: Methodology prepared by Insight Policy Research, 

Inc. and Gallup, Inc. write to the Office of Behavioral Safety 

Research, NHTSA, NTI-130, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, or send a fax to 202-366-7394, or 

download from www.nhtsa.gov. Alan Block was the project 

manager for this study. 

Reported Alcohol-Involved Crashes

Among persons 16 and older involved in a motor vehicle 

crash in the past two years, 20% reported that someone had 

been injured in the (most recent) crash. Respondents were 

more likely to report that an involved driver had been drinking alcohol if the crash led to injury (32%) than if no injury 

occurred (5%). 

Figure 2: Percentage of Crashes Reported to Be 

Alcohol-Involved

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Injury

Crashes

Non-Injury

Crashes

32%

5%

Perceptions of Drinking and Driving

More than four out of five persons (81%) saw drinking and 

driving by others as a major threat to their personal safety 

and that of their families. The percentage was somewhat 

higher for females (85%) than males (76%). 

Drivers who drink were asked to estimate the number of 

alcoholic beverages they could drink in two hours to reach 

the point at which it would be unsafe for them to drive. Forty 

percent believed it would be safe for them to have three 

drinks in a two-hour period before driving, with a portion of 

that 40% believing they could have more than three drinks.

Enforcement of Laws

About 1% of the population 16 and older had been arrested 

for a drinking and driving violation in the past two years; the 

percentage was 5% for males 21 to 24. Almost three-fourths of 

the public believed that drivers who had too much to drink 

to drive safely would be somewhat likely (40%), very likely 

(21%), or almost certain (12%) to be stopped by police.