National Institute on Alcohol 

Abuse and Alcoholism National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism


Division of Biometry and Epidemiology


Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System


SURVEILLANCE REPORT #56 

TRENDS IN ALCOHOL-RELATED FATAL 

TRAFFIC CRASHES, UNITED STATES, 1977–99 

Hsiao-ye Yi, Ph.D.1


Gerald D. Williams, D.Ed.1


Mary C. Dufour, M.D., M.P.H.2


1 CSR, Incorporated 

Suite 1000 

2107 Wilson Boulevard 

Arlington, VA 22201 

2 Division of Biometry and Epidemiology 

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 

Willco Building, Suite 514 

6000 Executive Boulevard 

Bethesda, MD 20892-7003 

December 2001 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services


Public Health Service


National Institutes of Health


CSR, Incorporated, operates the Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System (AEDS) 

under Contract No. N0AA82014 for the Division of Biometry and Epidemiology, 

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 
INTRODUCTION 

This surveillance report on alcohol-related1 

fatal traffic crashes is one in a series of 

surveillance reports designed to provide useful 

data to researchers, planners, policymakers, 

and other professionals interested in alcohol 

abuse and its associated illnesses and 

mortality. It is hoped that these documents, 

prepared by NIAAA’s Alcohol Epidemiologic 

Data System (AEDS), will serve as useful 

references for workers in the alcohol field. 

Other surveillance report topics include 

apparent per capita consumption of alcoholic 

beverages, discharges of hospital patients with 

alcohol-related conditions, and liver cirrhosis 

mortality. This 16th annual surveillance report 

on trends in alcohol-related fatal traffic crashes 

updates previous surveillance reports. 

HIGHLIGHTS 

This is the 16th annual surveillance report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse 

and Alcoholism (NIAAA) on trends in alcohol-related fatal traffic crashes. Data in this report 

were compiled from sources provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), and the U.S. Census Bureau. The 

following are highlights of both changes in alcohol-related fatal traffic crashes between 1998 

and 1999 and trends for the 23-year period from 1977 through 1999: 

General Trends and Fatality Rates 

• In 1999 the proportion of traffic crash fatalities that were alcohol-related reached a 

23-year low of 30.1 percent. 

• From 1998 to 1999 alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities decreased 1 percent, while 

nonalcohol-related traffic crash fatalities increased 1 percent. 

• From 1977 to 1999 alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles 

traveled, 100,000 population, 100,000 registered vehicles, and 100,000 licensed drivers 

decreased 61, 42, 51, and 47 percent, respectively. 

• The number of years of potential life lost (YPLL) attributable to alcohol-related traffic crashes 

declined 35 percent for males and 33 percent for females over the 23-year period. 

• From 1977 to 1999 the number of male drivers involved in alcohol-related fatal traffic 

crashes decreased 32 percent; for females the number increased 6 percent. 

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Testing and Results 

• In 1999 the national rate of BAC testing of drivers killed in traffic crashes was 74 percent, 

up from 55 percent in 1977. 

• Seventy-seven percent of drivers with positive BAC results were legally intoxicated, having 

BAC scores of 0.10 grams per deciliter (g/dl) or higher at the time of their crashes in 1999. If the 

legal BAC limit were lowered to 0.08 in all States, an additional 6 percent of the BAC positive 

drivers would have been considered legally intoxicated. 

Young Drinking Drivers 

• In 1999 deaths (including driver, passenger, and pedestrian deaths) associated with 

young drinking drivers ages 16 to 24 remained about the same as in the previous year, 

representing a 53-percent decline from 1977. 

• The number of young drinking drivers ages 16 to 24 killed in traffic crashes increased 

4 percent from 1998 to 1999, while the 1999 total was 49 percent lower than that in 1977. 

• After a continuous decline for 5 years beginning in 1990, the proportion of alcohol 

involvement among young drivers ages 16 to 20 in fatal traffic crashes reached a 

23-year low (19.5 percent) in 1995, representing a 47-percent reduction from the peak 

(36.5 percent) in 1982. It then showed an increase to 20.3 percent in 1996 and remained 

20.2 percent in 1997 and 1998. In 1999 the proportion again decreased to its lowest 

point, 19.5 percent. 

1 The terms “alcohol-related” and “alcohol-involved” 

are used interchangeably throughout this report. 

1

The 1999 mortality statistics show that the 

category of “accidents (unintentional injuries)” 

was the number one cause of death for persons 

in the age groups of 1 to 4, 5 to 14, 15 to 24, 

and 25 to 44 in the United States; motor 

vehicle accident fatalities represented 34, 57, 

75, and 50 percent of the deaths in this 

category for the four age groups, respectively. 

Overall, this category was the fifth leading 

cause of death in the United States in 1999; 

44 percent of the deaths were due to motor 

vehicle accidents (Kochanek et al. 2001). 

From 1977 through 1999 an average of 

approximately 45,000 people per year died in 

traffic crashes. 

The Surgeon General’s Workshop on Drunk 

Driving (Office of the Surgeon General 1989) 

emphasized the need for accurate and timely 

epidemiologic data to address the Nation’s 

drinking and driving problem. Over the past 19 

years, AEDS staff have periodically reported 

on various aspects of alcohol-related traffic 

fatalities (Aitken and Zobeck 1985; Campbell 

et al. 1995, 1996; Grigson et al. 1985; Lane et 

al. 1997; Lowman et al. 1983; Malin et al. 

1982; Malin and Verdugo 1984; Verdugo et al. 

1983; Yi et al. 1998, 1999, 2000; Zobeck 

1986; Zobeck et al. 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 

1990, 1991a, b, 1992, 1993, 1994a, b). 

Sources and Limitations of Data 

The major data source for this report is the 

U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality 

Analysis Reporting System (FARS). FARS 

contains data on all traffic crashes within the 

United States that involve a motor vehicle 

traveling on a trafficway customarily open to 

the public and that result in the death of a 

vehicle occupant or nonmotorist within 

30 days of the crash. The system is operated 

by NHTSA in cooperation with the States. 

FARS collects detailed data on the conditions 

of a crash, the vehicle(s) involved, and the 

driver(s) and other person(s) involved. These 

data are obtained from each State’s existing 

documents (e.g., police accident reports, death 

certificates, and hospital medical records). 

The following two variables in FARS are 

used in this report to define alcohol 

involvement: 

•	 Officer’s judgment.—The judgment of the 

investigating officer regarding the presence 

of alcohol in a person involved in a fatal 

crash. 

•	 BAC test.—A finding from any one of 

several chemical tests that measure the 

amount of alcohol in the blood. 

In this report, the definition of an alcoholrelated traffic crash is based on the alcohol 

involvement of the driver. A traffic crash is 

considered to be alcohol-related if either the 

officer’s judgment variable is coded “yes” or 

the BAC test is positive for at least one driver 

involved in the crash. A fatality is considered 

to be alcohol-related if the death occurs as the 

result of an alcohol-related crash. 

In contrast to the definition used in this 

report, NHTSA defines a traffic crash as 

alcohol-related if either a driver or a 

nonmotorist has a measurable or estimated 

BAC of 0.01 g/dl or above. NHTSA uses a 

statistical procedure to estimate unknown BAC 

values based on data for drivers with known 

BAC values (Klein 1986a, b). Thus the 

methodology in this report for determining 

alcohol involvement in fatal crashes differs 

from that used by NHTSA in the following 

three respects: (1) two alcohol involvement 

variables are used to identify a crash as 

alcohol-related, (2) only drivers’ alcohol 

involvement is used to determine the nature of 

a crash, and (3) no estimation procedures are 

used for unknown BAC values. Therefore, 

caution must be used while taking data from 

this report and from the estimates made by 

NHTSA. 

Alcohol involvement rates discussed in this 

report should be viewed as conservative 

estimates for the following reasons: 

•	 Police are reluctant to judge alcohol 

involvement, even in fatal crashes (yet 

when they do so, they are correct more 

than 90 percent of the time [Mercer 1985]); 

•	 BAC tests are not administered 

consistently and routinely across 

jurisdictions; 

•	 AEDS does not impute a value when the 

BAC level is missing from FARS data; and 

2

•	 Only alcohol-involved drivers flag 

accidents as alcohol-related; thus a traffic 

crash involving an alcohol-impaired 

pedestrian, without evidence that the 

driver(s) had been drinking, would not be 

included in this enumeration of alcoholrelated crashes. 

The first section of this report presents 

several rates. Denominator data for the rates 

are taken from the following sources: 

•	 Population estimates.—U.S. Census 

Bureau estimates of the U.S. population as 

of July 1 of each year (U.S. Census Bureau 

1977–95, 1998, 1999, 2000). 

•	 Registered vehicles, licensed drivers, and 

vehicle miles traveled.—FHA, for each 

year (Federal Highway Administration 

1978–2000). 

Organization and Methodology 

Data in this report are organized under the 

following headings: 

• General trends and fatality rates; 

• BAC testing and results; and 

• Young drinking drivers. 

Fatality rates, frequencies, and percentages 

are presented in graphic and tabular form. 

Graphics are incorporated into the text, and all 

tables are collected into an appendix. It is not 

within the scope of this report to exhaustively 

interpret every aspect of the data presented; 

rather, results are highlighted. The reader is 

encouraged to further analyze the data to 

identify findings not discussed in this report. 

GENERAL TRENDS AND 

FATALITY RATES 

This section first presents trends in numbers 

of traffic crashes, fatalities, and alcohol-related 

fatalities to indicate the magnitude of the 

problem of drinking and driving. Trends in 

four rates—traffic deaths per 100 million 

vehicle miles traveled (VMT), per 

100,000 population, per 100,000 registered 

vehicles, and per 100,000 licensed drivers— 

also are presented to put the raw frequencies 

into perspective. Then, data on YPLL due to 

alcohol-related traffic crashes are presented. 

Next, data on alcohol-related fatalities according 

to age group are shown and the decedent’s role in 

the crash (i.e., driver, passenger, or nonoccupant) 

is examined. Finally, the drivers are examined in 

more detail to determine the association of age 

and sex with involvement in alcohol-related fatal 

traffic crashes. 

Trends in the Number of Traffic Crash 

Deaths 

There were 41,717 traffic crash fatalities in 

1999, a slight increase of 0.5 percent from the 

1998 total of 41,501. The proportion of these 

fatalities that were alcohol-related was 30.1 

percent in 1999, the lowest point since 1977 

(see table 1 in the Appendix). This is the ninth 

straight year in which the percentage of 

alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities has 

decreased since 1991. The proportion of 

alcohol-related traffic crash deaths in 1999 is 

6 percentage points lower than the proportion 

in 1977; 4,867 (28 percent) fewer alcohol-related 

traffic crash deaths occurred in 1999 than in 1977. 

Figure 1 presents trends in both alcoholrelated and nonalcohol-related traffic crash 

fatalities. The number of alcohol-related traffic 

crash fatalities increased slightly each year 

from 1977 to 1980. This was followed by a 

decreasing trend in alcohol-related traffic crash 

fatalities from 1981 to 1983. There was a sharp 

decrease in overall traffic crash fatalities in 

1982, resulting from a substantial decrease in 

both nonalcohol- and alcohol-related fatalities. 

In 1984 traffic crash fatalities increased for 

both classes of fatalities, followed in 1985 by a 

slight increase in nonalcohol-related fatalities 

and a decrease in alcohol-related traffic crash 

fatalities. In 1986 there was a sharp increase 

(11 percent) in alcohol-related deaths, while 

nonalcohol-related deaths showed only a 

modest (1 percent) increase. Beginning in 

1987, the number of alcohol-related traffic 

crash fatalities decreased each year except in 

1995, ending with a 23-year low of 12,547 

fatalities in 1999. The number of nonalcoholrelated traffic crash fatalities did not follow the 

same downward trend in these years, with 

increases in 1987, 1988, 1993 through 1997, 

and 1999. 

3

Trends in the Rates of Traffic Crash Deaths 

The probability of having or being involved 

in a traffic accident depends on several factors 

(e.g., the amount of time a person spends on 

the road, the number of miles driven, vehicle 

speed, or type of vehicle driven). Four 

associated “risk factors”—VMT, the number 

of people in the population, the number of 

registered vehicles, and the number of licensed 

drivers—are frequently used to express traffic 

crash fatalities as rates per these denominators. 

These rates place the raw frequencies within a 

context of associated risk factors, each of 

which is subject to change over the years. 

Figures 2a to 2c graphically present these rates 

for all fatalities and for alcohol-related fatalities; 

the data for these figures are included in table 2. 

Figure 2a illustrates the downward trends 

from 1977 to 1999 in total and alcohol-related 

traffic crash fatalities per 100 million VMT. In 

1999 both total and alcohol-related traffic crash 

fatalities per 100 million VMT decreased. 

Figures 2b and 2c indicate that trends are 

similar for both total and alcohol-related traffic 

crash fatalities per 100,000 population, per 

100,000 registered vehicles, and per 100,000 

licensed drivers. Each of these rates decreased 

slightly from 1998 to 1999. 

Table 2 in the Appendix indicates that, from 

1977 to 1999, total traffic crash fatality rates 

decreased 52, 30, 41, and 35 percent per 

100 million VMT, per 100,000 population, per 

100,000 registered vehicles, and per 100,000 

licensed drivers, respectively. Corresponding 

decreases in these rates for alcohol-related 

fatalities (61, 42, 51, and 47 percent per 

100 million VMT, per 100,000 population, per 

100,000 registered vehicles, and per 

100,000 licensed drivers, respectively) 

likewise show a substantially greater decrease 

over the 23-year study period. The rates for 

total and alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities 

during this period decreased, even though the 

highways have become more crowded. 

Trends in Years of Potential Life Lost 

YPLL is a measure used to assess the 

human cost of a particular cause of death. In 

this report, YPLL is calculated by subtracting 

1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 

0 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

Fatalities (in thousands) 

Alcohol-related fatalities 

Figure 1. Alcohol-related and nonalcohol-related traffic crash fatalities, United States, 1977–99. 

Nonalcohol-related fatalities 

4

1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 

0 

1 

2 

3 

4 

Rate per 100 million VMT 

All fatalities Alcohol-related fatalities 

Figure 2a. Total and alcohol-related traffic fatality rates per 100 million vehicle 

miles traveled (VMT), United States, 1977–99. 

. 

1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 

15 

20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

Rate 

100,000 population 100,000 registered vehicles 100,000 licensed drivers 

Figure 2b. Traffic fatality rates per 100,000 population, registered vehicles, 

and licensed drivers, United States, 1977–99. 

0 

5

the age at death from age 65 for each death 

(for decedents under age 65 only) and then 

accumulating the total across all deaths. The 

technique is especially useful for indicating the 

impact of causes of death that particularly 

affect youth, such as alcohol-related traffic 

crashes (e.g., Bertolucci et al. 1985; Centers 

for Disease Control 1988a, b; McDonnell and 

Maynard 1985; Romeder and McWhinnie 

1977). Total YPLL, mean YPLL, and rate of 

YPLL per 100,000 population under age 65 for 

all traffic crash deaths and for alcohol-related 

traffic crash deaths are presented in table 3 in 

the Appendix. 

In 1999 YPLL due to all traffic crashes 

totaled 1,122,209, representing 774,709 years 

among males and 347,500 years among 

females. These figures for males and females 

represent a 31- and 14-percent decrease in 

YPLL due to fatal traffic crashes, respectively, 

from the 1977 totals. From 1977 to 1999, the 

rate of YPLL per 100,000 population under 

age 65 for all traffic crash deaths declined 

45 percent among males and 30 percent among 

females. From 1998 to 1999, the total YPLL 

from traffic crashes increased slightly among 

both males and females (1.2 and 0.5 percent, 

respectively). Similarly, the rate of YPLL 

per 100,000 population under age 65 for all 

traffic crash deaths had a slight increase of 

1 YPLL among both males and females from 

1998 to 1999. 

In 1999, 39 percent of the YPLL 

(304,133 years) among males and 26 percent 

of the YPLL (90,767 years) among females 

were attributable to alcohol-related crashes. 

These YPLL figures represent a 35- and 

33-percent decrease for males and females, 

respectively, in YPLL attributable to alcoholrelated crashes when compared with YPLL 

figures for 1977. From 1977 to 1999, the rate 

of YPLL per 100,000 population under age 65 

for alcohol-related traffic crash deaths declined 

48 percent among males and 45 percent 

among females. 

The mean YPLL from alcohol-related 

fatalities for males varied over the 23-year 

study period, with the highest in 1979 (36.5 years) 

1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 

4 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

16 

Rate 

100,000 population 100,000 registered vehicles 100,000 licensed drivers 

Figure 2c. Alcohol-related traffic fatality rates per 100,000 population, registered 

vehicles, and licensed drivers, United States, 1977–99. 

0 

6

and the lowest in 1999 (32.9 years). Among 

females, the highest mean YPLL occurred in 

1978 (37.4 years) and the lowest in 1997 

(33.8). The mean was 34.0 years in 1999. 

Age Trends in Alcohol-Related Traffic 

Crash Fatalities 

In 1999 approximately 75 percent of those 

killed in alcohol-related fatal traffic crashes 

were ages 16 to 44 (see table 4 in the 

Appendix). The proportion of persons ages 

16 to 24 killed in alcohol-related traffic 

crashes decreased 14 percentage points from 

1977 to 1999, while the proportion of persons 

ages 25 to 44 killed in alcohol-related traffic 

crashes increased 13 percentage points during 

the same period. As a result, while decedents 

aged 16–24 constituted the largest proportion 

(43.2 percent) in 1977 among the age groups 

presented in table 4, decedents aged 25–44 

were the largest group (45.5 percent) in 1999, 

a pattern that began in 1983. In the period 

between 1977 and 1999, the percentage of 

decedents under age 16 in alcohol-related 

traffic crashes decreased from 5.5 to 3.8. 

During the same period, the percentage of 

decedents over 64 in alcohol-related crashes 

fluctuated between 4 and 5.5, while it was 4.9 

percent in 1999. 

Decedent’s Role in Fatal Traffic Crashes 

Analyses of FARS data suggest that a 

person’s alcohol involvement and risk of death 

vary by role (i.e., driver, passenger, or 

nonoccupant2

) in the crash (see table 5 in the 

Appendix). In 1999, 35 percent of all driver 

deaths, 30 percent of all passenger deaths, and 

10 percent of all nonoccupant deaths were 

alcohol-related. 

Further analysis of the role of the decedents 

in crashes indicates that drivers were the 

largest group among the three role groups in 

either alcohol-related or nonalcohol-related 

crashes. However, drivers’ proportion in the 

total fatalities is larger in alcohol-related 

crashes than in nonalcohol-related crashes 

(see figures 3a and 3b). The percentage of 

passenger deaths was similar in alcoholrelated and nonalcohol-related traffic crashes; 

however, there was a higher proportion of 

nonoccupant deaths in nonalcohol-related 

traffic crashes than in alcohol-related traffic 

crashes. 

More detailed data on drivers show that 

there were more than 3.5 times as many male 

drivers as female drivers involved in fatal 

traffic crashes from 1977 to 1999. The overall 

male-to-female ratio for alcohol-involved 

drivers was about 7 during the 23-year period, 

twice as high as that for all drivers. However, 

the gap between the sexes gradually narrowed 

and the male-to-female ratio dropped from 4.5 

and 8.7 in 1977 to 2.7 and 5.5 in 1999 for total 

and alcohol-involved drivers, respectively (see 

table 6 in the Appendix). Furthermore, the 

percentage of alcohol-involved male drivers 

was twice as high as the percentage of alcoholinvolved female drivers. The percentage of 

alcohol-involved drivers for both sexes reached 

a 23-year low in 1999. The number of male 

drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes 

decreased 16 percent from 1977 to 1999, while 

the number of female drivers involved in fatal 

traffic crashes increased 37 percent during the 

same period. The number of alcohol-involved 

male drivers decreased 32 percent (from 

14,199 to 9,656) from 1977 to 1999; the 

number of alcohol-involved female drivers 

increased 6 percent (from 1,628 to 1,720). 

From 1998 to 1999, the number of alcoholinvolved drivers decreased 1 percent among 

males and 3 percent among females. 

BAC TESTING AND RESULTS 

This section presents the national trends in 

BAC testing rates over the 23-year study 

period from 1977 to 1999. The rates are also 

presented across State jurisdictions and by 

driver’s age, sex, and injury severity. Finally, 

2	 The nonoccupant category includes the more detailed 

categories of pedestrian, pedalcyclist, other 

nonoccupant role, and unknown person role. In an 

earlier traffic fatality surveillance report (Zobeck 

1986), data for each category were presented. 

However, because the majority of persons in these 

categories were pedestrians, all cases have been 

combined into a single category (nonoccupant) for 

this report. 

7

57% 

25% 

18% 

Drivers 

Passengers 

Nonoccupants 

Figure 3a. Decedent’s role in nonalcohol-related traffic fatalities, United States, 1999. 

70% 

25% 

5% 

Drivers 

Passengers 

Nonoccupants 

Figure 3b. Decedent’s role in alcohol-related traffic fatalities, United States, 1999. 

8

percentage distributions of BAC test results3 

according to age and sex are examined. 

Rates of BAC Testing 

The national trends in administering BAC 

tests to drivers over the 23-year period from 

1977 to 1999 are illustrated in figure 4 (data 

presented in table 7 in the Appendix). The 

testing rate for dead drivers increased from 

55 percent in 1977 to 74 percent in 1999, with 

a 23-year high of nearly 80 percent in 1989. 

Among surviving drivers the testing rate has 

been much lower, but also has increased from 

16 percent in 1977 to 30 percent in 1999. 

As indicated in table 8 in the Appendix, 

BAC tests have not been administered 

consistently across States. In 1977 only 

11 States tested their dead drivers 80 percent 

of the time or more. The rates of testing among 

States varied widely, from 1 percent in 

Mississippi to 92 percent in Oregon and 

Nevada. In 1999, 27 States tested their dead 

drivers 80 percent of the time or more. There 

was a wide range of testing rates among States 

in 1999 also, with the District of Columbia 

having the lowest rate (0 percent) and 

Maryland the highest (99 percent). 

Testing rates for surviving drivers are even 

lower than those for dead drivers because 

many States prohibit mandatory testing of 

surviving drivers (although refusal to submit to 

a test may be used as evidence of intoxication 

in some jurisdictions). While the rates 

increased substantially from 1977 to 1999, 

only three States (Georgia, Maine, and 

Nebraska) tested more than 80 percent of its 

surviving drivers in 1999. 

As of January 1, 1999, 32 States had 

enacted legislation mandating BAC testing of 

drivers killed in traffic crashes (National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

1999a). In 1999, 14 of these 32 States tested 

fewer than 80 percent of their drivers killed in 

fatal traffic crashes (see table 8 in the Appendix). 

1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 

0 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

Percentage 

Dead Alive Total 

Figure 4. Percentage of drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes and given BAC 

tests, according to injury severity, United States, 1977–99. 

3 BAC is expressed as the weight of the amount of 

alcohol in a specified volume of blood (e.g., 0.10 grams 

of ethanol per deciliter of blood). The unit for BAC used 

in this report is grams per deciliter (g/dl). 

9

Table 9 in the Appendix presents 

comparisons of the number of drivers tested, as 

well as the percentage, according to sex, age, 

and survival status between 1977 and 1999. 

Testing of deceased male and female drivers 

increased from 1977 to 1999 across all age 

groups, with fairly consistent rates across the 

age groups for both 1977 and 1999, except for 

the 45 and older age group, which had the 

lowest rate of testing in both years. Testing 

rates were higher among males than among 

females for all age groups in 1999; this also 

was true in 1977. 

The increase between 1977 and 1999 in the 

rates of BAC testing of surviving drivers 

involved in fatal traffic crashes is seen across 

all age groups for both males and females. 

Overall, the testing rate was almost double 

(from 17.2 in 1977 to 33.5 in 1999) for males 

and triple (from 9.2 in 1977 to 24.2 in 1999) 

for females. However, testing rates were still 

much lower among surviving drivers than 

among dead drivers. 

Test Results 

The mean BAC score for drinking drivers 

remained at 0.16 or 0.17 g/dl throughout the 

23-year study period. Even higher than the 

mean BAC score for drinking drivers was the 

mean BAC score for pedestrians with positive 

BAC results. The mean BAC for this group 

held steady at 0.19 to 0.21 g/dl (numbers not 

included in any of the Appendix tables). 

A detailed examination of the level of 

intoxication among drinking drivers is 

provided by the distributions of their BAC 

levels. In past years AEDS analyses (Aitken 

and Zobeck 1985; Malin et al. 1982; Malin and 

Verdugo 1984) tracked the BAC percentages of 

drivers by age group to determine at what BAC 

value the greatest proportion of drivers in an 

age group become involved in fatal crashes. 

Figure 5 updates previous analyses by 

presenting data for 1999. Data for all 23 years 

are presented in table 10 in the Appendix. The 

current results continue to support previous 

evidence that the youngest drivers (ages 16 to 

19) have a peak BAC level in the range of 

0.10–0.14 g/dl, while older drivers have a peak 

BAC level of 0.15–0.19 g/dl or higher. Young 

drivers may become involved in alcoholrelated crashes at lower BAC levels than older 

drivers because young drivers tend to have 

limited experience with driving and their 

tolerance for alcohol usually is lower than that 

of older drinking drivers. 

In most States a BAC test result of 0.10 g/dl 

or higher is considered evidence of 

intoxication. According to this BAC limit, in 

1999 approximately 77 percent of drivers with 

positive BAC results were legally intoxicated 

at the time of the crash. Both males and 

females ages 35 to 44 were more likely than 

those in other age groups to have BAC results 

of 0.10 g/dl or higher. Across all age groups, 

BAC-positive male drivers were more likely 

than BAC-positive female drivers to be legally 

intoxicated at the time of the fatal traffic crash. 

As of January 1, 1999, 15 States had 

lowered their legal BAC limit from 0.10 to 

0.08 g/dl in an effort to reduce alcohol-related 

traffic crashes (National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration 1999b). On October 23, 

2000, the President of the United States signed 

the “Department of Transportation and Related 

Agencies Appropriation Act, 2001” into law. 

The Act requires all States to adopt an 

impaired driving threshold at 0.08 g/dl BAC, 

and sets sanctions (reduced Federal highway 

funds) for noncompliance, beginning in fiscal 

year 2004 (White House Press Release, 

October 23, 2000). To examine how the 

lowered BAC limit may affect alcoholinvolved drivers in fatal traffic crashes, table 

10 includes a category for the percentage of 

drivers having BAC levels of 0.08–0.09 g/dl. 

Under the lowered BAC limit, these drivers 

would be considered legally intoxicated. In 

1999, about 6 percent of all drinking drivers 

(with a known BAC score) involved in fatal 

traffic crashes were in this category. These 

drivers would have been considered legally 

intoxicated along with the 77 percent who had 

a BAC score of 0.10 or above if all States had 

adopted 0.08 as the legal BAC limit for 

drivers. (This estimate may be conservative 

because all 50 States plus the District of 

Columbia have laws setting the BAC limit at 

10

0.02 or lower for youthful drivers [National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration 1999b].) 

YOUNG DRINKING DRIVERS 

The problem of young drinking drivers has 

long been of interest to AEDS (Aitken and 

Zobeck 1985; Lowman et al. 1983; Malin et al. 

1982, 1985a, b; Verdugo et al. 1983). This 

section reexamines and updates several issues 

and trends discussed in prior AEDS analyses 

of young drivers ages 16 to 24. Beginning with 

the 1999 issue of this surveillance report 

(Yi et al. 1998), this section also includes a 

separate analysis focusing on drivers ages 

16 to 20. 

Young Drivers Ages 16 to 24 

As table 11 in the Appendix indicates, there 

were 3,934 deaths associated with young (i.e., 

ages 16 to 24) drinking drivers in 1999. This 

total remained almost the same as the 1998 

total (3,936) after a continuous decline that 

began in 

percent decrease from the 23-year high of 

9,918 in 1980. In 1999, 61 percent of the 

decedents in fatalities associated with young 

drinking drivers were drivers, 36 percent were 

passengers, and 3 percent were nonoccupants. 

From 1977 to 1999, deaths decreased 

3 percent (25,782 versus 25,091) among 

drivers of all ages and 18 percent (9,662 versus 

7,901) among drinking drivers of all ages4 (see 

table 12 in the Appendix). The reduction in 

traffic crash fatalities for young drivers over 

the 23-year period was much greater than that 

for drivers ages 25 and older, with a decrease 

of 40 percent (from 10,091 in 1977 to 6,029 in 

1999) among all young drivers and 49 percent 

(from 4,191 to 2,136) among young drinking 

drivers. Of total driver fatalities, the young 

drivers’ share decreased 15 percentage points 

(from 39.1 to 24.0). Of drinking driver 

fatalities, the young drivers’ share decreased 

16 percentage points (from 43.4 to 27.0). 

0.01–.04 0.05–.09 0.10–.14 0.15–.19 0.20–.24 0.25–.29 0.30+ 

0 

5 

10 

15 

20 

25 

30 

Percentage 

BAC level (g/dl) 

Age 16–19 Age 20–24 Age 25–34 Age 35–44 Age 45+ 

Figure 5. Percentage distributions of BAC among alcohol-involved drivers, 

according to age, United States, 1999. 

4 In this section, those under age 16 and those whose 

age is unknown are excluded from the analysis. 

1987. The 1999 total represents a 60-

11

Compared with 1998, the number of driver 

fatalities in 1999 increased 4.2 percent (from 

5,786 to 6,029) for young drivers and 

3.6 percent (from 2,062 to 2,136) for young 

drinking drivers; the latter was the second, 

consecutive increase after a continuous decline 

since 1987. While the 1999 figure for young 

drinking drivers represents a 58-percent 

decrease from the peak year of 1980, young 

drivers continue to be over-represented in 

drinking driver deaths. For example, in 1999 

persons ages 16 to 24 accounted for 27 percent 

of all such deaths, but constituted less than 

14 percent of the licensed driver population in 

the United States (Federal Highway 

Administration 2000). 

Young Drivers Ages 16 to 20 

Because of the lack of driving experience 

and the tendency to engage in risk-taking 

behavior among teenage drivers, drinking and 

driving by this age group has been one of the 

major concerns in the traffic safety and public 

health sector. Analyses of 1999 FARS data 

show that the fatal traffic crash involvement 

rate per 100,000 licensed drivers for young 

drivers ages 16–20 was more than twice as 

high as that for drivers ages 21 and older 

(63.3 versus 27.1). Similarly, the rate of 

alcohol-involved drivers in fatal crashes was 

12.3 per 100,000 licensed drivers among 

young drivers ages 16 to 20, whereas it was 

5.6 for drivers ages 21 and older (data not 

shown in Appendix tables). Two of the major 

legislative efforts to reduce fatal traffic crashes 

among young drivers were raising the 

minimum drinking age to 21 and lowering the 

legal BAC limit for young drivers. Prior to 

1988, the minimum legal drinking age varied 

from 18 to 21 across the States. By 1988, all 

50 States and the District of Columbia 

legislated a minimum drinking age of 21 

(National Traffic Safety Board 1993). 

Beginning in 1983, a few States enacted laws 

that lowered BAC limits for youths. With 

incentives set by Federal legislation in 1991 

and 1995, by 1999 all 50 States plus the 

District of Columbia had laws setting BAC 

1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 

20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

Percentage 

Age 16–20 Age 21+ 

0 

Figure 6. Percentage of alcohol involvement among young drivers ages 16 to 20 

and drivers ages 21 and older in fatal traffic crashes, United States, 1977–99. 

12

limit of 0.02 or less for drivers under the age 

of 21 (National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 1999; Wagenaar et al. 2001). 

Analyses of the FARS data indicate that the 

trend in alcohol involvement among drivers 

under 21 has changed dramatically during the 

23 years from 1977 to 1999. As the curves in 

figure 6 show (data presented in table 13 in the 

Appendix), during the late 1970s to the early 

1980s the proportion of alcohol-involved 

drivers in fatal traffic crashes increased about 

7 percentage points (from 29.8 in 1977 to 36.5 

in 1982) among young drivers ages 16 to 20 

and 5 percentage points (from 26.0 in 1977 to 

30.5 in 1981) among drivers ages 21 and older. 

Since 1983 there has been a downward trend 

with a few fluctuations in the proportion 

among young drivers ages 16 to 20. The 

decline was more monotonic and steeper after 

1990 than before 1990. In 1995, the proportion 

reached its lowest point of 19.5 percent for the 

23-year period, representing a 47 percent 

reduction from the highest level (36.5 percent) 

in 1982. In contrast, the proportion of alcohol 

involvement among drivers ages 21 and older 

did not show substantial decline until 1991. 

Beginning in 1991, the proportion had a 

continuous decline and reached a 23-year low 

of 20.7 percent in 1999, resulting in a 

reduction of 32 percent from its highest point 

(30.8 percent) in 1986. It is important to note 

that prior to 1991, the proportion of alcoholinvolved drivers in fatal traffic crashes among 

young drivers ages 16 to 20 was always higher 

than that among drivers ages 21 and older 

except in 1989. The two curves crossed over 

around 1991 as a result of a steeper decline in 

alcohol involvement among young drivers than 

among older drivers. 

However, from 1995 to 1996, there was a 

slight increase in the number and the 

proportion of alcohol involvement among 

young drivers ages 16 to 20. In 1997 and 1998 

the proportion remained about the same 

(20.2 percent). As shown in figure 6, with a 

continuous decline in the proportion of alcohol 

involvement among drivers ages 21 and older, 

the two curves appeared to converge again in 

1998. From 1998 to 1999, young drivers’ 

alcohol involvement showed a slightly greater 

decline than that among drivers ages 21 and older, 

again reaching its lowest point of 19.5 percent. 

CONCLUSIONS 

There were 41,717 traffic crash fatalities in 

1999, a slight increase of 0.5 percent from the 

1998 total of 41,501 deaths. There was a 

1-percent decrease in the number of alcoholrelated traffic crash fatalities from 1998 to 

1999. The percentage of all alcohol-related 

traffic fatalities also decreased slightly and 

reached a 23-year low of 30.1 percent. There 

was a 28-percent decrease from 1977 to 1999 

in alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities. The 

rates of total traffic crash fatalities per million 

VMT, per 100,000 population, per 100,000 

registered vehicles, and per 100,000 licensed 

drivers all decreased from 1998 to 1999, as did 

the rates of alcohol-related traffic crash 

fatalities per these denominators. From 1977 to 

1999 alcohol-related fatalities per 100 million 

VMT dropped 61 percent, and alcohol-related 

fatalities per 100,000 population, registered 

vehicles, and licensed drivers decreased 42, 51, 

and 47 percent, respectively. 

The number of YPLL due to alcohol-related 

traffic crashes decreased 35 and 33 percent for 

males and females, respectively, over the 

23-year study period. As in previous years, 

compared with passengers and nonoccupants, 

drivers constituted the largest proportion of the 

fatalities in fatal crashes in 1999, whether 

alcohol-related or not. On the other hand, a 

higher percentage of nonoccupants were killed 

in nonalcohol-related traffic crashes than in 

alcohol-related traffic crashes. In 1999, the 

total number of deaths (including driver, 

passenger, and pedestrian deaths) associated 

with young drinking drivers ages 

16 to 24 remained about the same as the total 

in 1998, representing a 53 percent decline 

from the total in 1977. Traffic crash fatalities 

among young drinking drivers increased 

4 percent from 1998 to 1999. Although there 

was an overall reduction of 49 percent from 

1977 to 1999 in young drinking driver 

fatalities, this age group continued to be overrepresented in drinking driver fatalities. 

13

This report also analyzed young drivers 

ages 16 to 20 separately. In 1999 the 

proportion of alcohol-involved drivers in fatal 

traffic crashes was 19.5 percent among young 

drivers ages 16 to 20, representing a decrease 

of 17 percentage points from the 23-year high 

in 1982. Prior to 1991, the proportion of 

alcohol-involved drivers in fatal traffic crashes 

among young drivers ages 16 to 20 was higher 

than that among drivers ages 21 and older 

except in 1989. Trends of the two proportions 

crossed over around 1991, and the proportion 

for young drivers ages 16 to 20 has remained 

the lower of the two since then. 

This report is descriptive; therefore, no 

attempt has been made to analyze all possible 

factors that may explain the observed trends; 

however, the following are some factors that 

may have affected these trends. 

Since 1987 there has been a decreasing 

trend in alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities. 

There are four possible reasons for this. First, 

it seems logical to assume that safety 

improvements for both vehicles and roadways, 

along with increased seatbelt use and passive 

restraint systems, have reduced both total and 

alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities. Second, 

public awareness of and activism against the 

problem of drinking and driving have 

increased. Third, in response to Federal 

initiatives, by 1988 all 50 States and the 

District of Columbia had in effect a minimum 

legal drinking age of 21; by 1999 all 50 States 

plus the District of Columbia had laws setting 

the BAC limit at 0.02 or lower for youthful 

drivers; and 15 States had lowered the legal 

BAC limit to 0.08 for drivers 21 and older. 

Finally, changes in police enforcement (e.g., 

sobriety checkpoints) and in consequences of 

alcohol-impaired driving (e.g., administrative 

license revocation) are likely to have 

contributed to reductions in drinking and 

driving over the years. Any effects that these 

factors, either singly or in combination, may 

have had on the present data are reviewed 

elsewhere (e.g., DeJong and Hingson 1998; 

Fell 1999; Hingson et al 1994; Little and 

Clontz 1994; Toomey et al. 1996; Vingilis and 

Coultes 1990; Wagenaar et al. 1995, 2000; 

Zobeck and Williams 1994). However, 

continued surveillance of these data will assist 

in resolving issues regarding the strength and 

direction of the observed trends. 

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16

APPENDIX 

List of Tables 

Page 

Table 1 	 Traffic crashes, traffic crash fatalities, and alcohol-related traffic crash 


fatalities, United States, 1977–99 ..................................................................... 18 


Table 2 	 Total and alcohol-related traffic fatality rates per 100 million VMT and 


100,000 population, registered vehicles, and licensed drivers, United States,


1977–99 ............................................................................................................. 19 


Table 3 	 Years of potential life lost (YPLL) from total and alcohol-related traffic 


crashes, according to sex, United States, 1977–99 ........................................... 20 


Table 4 	 Alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities, according to age, United States, 


1977–99 ............................................................................................................. 21 


Table 5 	 Decedent's role in alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities, United States, 


1977–99 ............................................................................................................. 22 


Table 6 	 Drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes, according to sex and alcohol 


involvement, United States, 1977–99 ............................................................... 23 


Table 7 	 Drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes and given BAC tests, according to 


injury severity, United States, 1977–99 ............................................................ 24 


Table 8 	 Drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes and given BAC tests, according to 


State and injury severity, United States, 1977 and 1999 .................................. 25 


Table 9 	 Drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes and given BAC tests, according to 


sex, age, and injury severity, United States, 1977 and 1999 ............................ 27 


Table 10 	 Percentage distributions of BAC among alcohol-involved drivers, according 


to sex and age, United States, 1977–99 ............................................................ 28 


Table 11 	 Alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities associated with young drivers ages 


16 to 24, according to decedent's role, United States, 1977–99 ....................... 36 


Table 12 	 Traffic crash fatalities among young drivers and young drinking drivers ages 


16 to 24, United States, 1977–99 ...................................................................... 37 


Table 13 	 Alcohol involvement among young drivers ages 16–20 in fatal traffic 


crashes, United States, 1977–99 ....................................................................... 38 


17 
Table 1. Traffic crashes, traffic crash fatalities, and alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities, United States, 1977–99. 

Event 

Year Traffic crashes Traffic crash fatalities 

(a) 

Alcohol-related traffic 

crash fatalities 

(b) 

Percent of all traffic 

crash fatalities 

(b/a) 

1999............................... 37,140 30.1 

1998............................... 37,107 30.5 

1997............................... 37,324 30.6 

1996............................... 37,351 32.4 

1995............................... 37,241 33.2 

1994............................... 36,254 33.6 

1993............................... 35,747 35.5 

1992............................... 34,942 37.4 

1991............................... 36,895 39.1 

1990............................... 39,779 41.0 

1989............................... 40,718 40.3 

1988............................... 42,130 41.0 

1987............................... 41,435 42.9 

1986............................... 41,090 43.5 

1985............................... 39,196 41.2 

1984............................... 39,622 41.9 

1983............................... 37,971 41.9 

1982............................... 38,899 42.6 

1981............................... 43,979 41.9 

1980............................... 45,271 41.3 

1979............................... 45,212 39.6 

1978............................... 44,433 36.5 

1977............................... 42,064 36.5 

41,717 12,547 

41,501 12,663 

42,013 12,870 

41,907 13,557 

41,817 13,881 

40,716 13,693 

40,115 14,225 

39,250 14,684 

41,462 16,231 

44,529 18,279 

45,555 18,381 

47,087 19,303 

46,386 19,918 

46,082 20,038 

43,825 18,040 

44,241 18,523 

42,584 17,847 

43,721 18,622 

49,268 20,662 

51,077 21,114 

51,084 20,245 

50,327 18,362 

47,715 17,414 

18 

Table 2. Total and alcohol-related traffic fatality rates per 100 million VMT 1 and 100,000 population, registered vehicles, and 

licensed drivers, United States, 1977–99. 

Rate 

Year 100 million VMT 1 100,000 population 100,000 registered 

vehicles 2 

100,000 licensed 

drivers 

All fatalities 

1999............................... 1.55 15.30 18.92 22.29 

1998............................... 1.58 15.36 19.26 22.44 

1997............................... 1.64 15.69 19.86 22.99 

1996............................... 1.69 15.80 19.93 23.34 

1995............................... 1.73 15.91 20.37 23.68 

1994............................... 1.73 15.64 20.18 23.21 

1993............................... 1.75 15.56 20.26 23.17 

1992............................... 1.75 15.39 20.19 22.89 

1991............................... 1.91 16.44 21.56 24.53 

1990............................... 2.08 17.93 23.08 26.70 

1989............................... 2.16 18.35 23.76 27.52 

1988............................... 2.32 19.12 24.92 28.91 

1987............................... 2.41 19.06 25.24 28.67 

1986............................... 2.51 19.08 25.40 28.90 

1985............................... 2.47 18.35 24.74 27.94 

1984............................... 2.58 18.70 25.72 28.47 

1983............................... 2.58 18.20 25.13 27.61 

1982............................... 2.75 18.86 26.46 29.09 

1981............................... 3.18 21.49 29.99 34.07 

1980............................... 3.36 22.55 31.60 35.15 

1979............................... 3.34 22.75 32.00 35.65 

1978............................... 3.25 22.66 32.70 35.73 

1977............................... 3.25 21.71 32.07 34.55 

Percent change 

1977–99......................... -52.31 29.53 41.00 35.49 

Alcohol-related fatalities 

1999............................... 0.47 4.60 5.69 6.70 

1998............................... 0.48 4.69 5.88 6.85 

1997............................... 0.50 4.81 6.08 7.04 

1996............................... 0.55 5.11 6.45 7.55 

1995............................... 0.57 5.28 6.76 7.86 

1994............................... 0.58 5.26 6.79 7.81 

1993............................... 0.62 5.52 7.18 8.22 

1992............................... 0.66 5.76 7.55 8.56 

1991............................... 0.75 6.44 8.44 9.60 

1990............................... 0.85 7.35 9.48 10.94 

1989............................... 0.87 7.40 9.59 11.10 

1988............................... 0.95 7.85 10.21 11.85 

1987............................... 1.04 8.18 10.84 12.31 

1986............................... 1.09 8.30 11.04 12.57 

1985............................... 1.02 7.55 10.18 11.50 

1984............................... 1.08 7.83 10.77 11.92 

1983............................... 1.08 7.63 10.53 11.57 

1982............................... 1.17 8.04 11.27 12.39 

1981............................... 1.33 9.01 12.58 14.29 

1980............................... 1.39 9.32 13.06 14.53 

1979............................... 1.32 9.02 12.68 14.13 

1978............................... 1.19 8.27 11.93 13.04 

1977............................... 1.19 7.92 11.71 12.61 

Percent change 

1977–99......................... -60.82 41.90 51.40 46.84 

- - -

- - -

1

 Vehicle miles traveled. 2

 Includes all private, commercial, and public-owned motor vehicles and motorcycles. 

19 
Table 3. Years of potential life lost (YPLL) 1 from total and alcohol-related traffic crashes, according to sex, 

United States, 1977–99. 

YPLL 

Year and sex All traffic crash deaths Alcohol-related traffic crash deaths

Years Mean Rate 2

 Years Mean Rate 2 

Percent alcoholrelated 3 

Male 

1999............... 774,709 32.4 651 32.9 256 39.3 

1998............... 765,829 32.6 650 33.0 258 39.7 

1997............... 775,404 32.8 664 33.0 263 39.6 

1996............... 797,317 33.4 688 33.4 282 41.0 

1995............... 811,619 33.5 708 33.4 295 41.7 

1994............... 796,856 33.9 701 33.9 299 42.6 

1993............... 797,541 33.9 709 34.0 314 44.4 

1992............... 788,396 34.1 707 34.2 328 46.3 

1991............... 858,689 34.5 779 34.8 379 48.7 

1990............... 942,683 34.6 867 34.8 436 50.3 

1989............... 954,983 34.7 881 34.8 434 49.2 

1988............... 1,025,654 35.3 955 508,336 35.6 473 49.6 

1987............... 1,027,956 35.4 966 519,312 35.5 488 50.5 

1986............... 1,050,186 35.8 995 541,247 36.1 508 51.5 

1985............... 979,059 35.4 936 35.8 458 48.8 

1984............... 1,003,065 35.6 967 494,881 36.0 477 49.3 

1983............... 978,208 35.7 951 36.1 470 49.3 

1982............... 1,025,107 35.8 1,005 506,355 36.2 497 49.3 

1981............... 1,159,566 35.8 1,148 557,533 35.9 552 48.0 

1980............... 1,227,993 36.2 1,227 573,546 36.3 573 46.7 

1979............... 1,238,294 36.4 1,277 555,113 36.5 572 44.8 

1978............... 1,208,669 36.5 1,255 502,380 36.4 521 41.5 

1977............... 1,129,628 36.4 1,181 471,103 36.3 492 41.7 

Female 

1999............... 347,500 32.8 292 90,767 34.0 76 26.1 

1998............... 345,936 32.6 293 93,775 33.9 79 27.1 

1997............... 359,436 33.1 308 95,903 33.8 82 26.7 

1996............... 360,535 33.4 312 34.0 89 28.4 

1995............... 354,250 33.7 309 34.1 91 29.3 

1994............... 346,319 34.0 305 35.2 91 29.9 

1993............... 334,397 34.1 297 34.8 95 31.9 

1992............... 326,300 33.9 293 34.9 99 33.9 

1991............... 348,423 34.5 316 35.4 109 34.4 

1990............... 368,300 34.1 338 35.3 123 36.4 

1989............... 391,727 34.7 360 35.6 129 35.7 

1988............... 395,517 35.0 366 35.9 136 37.3 

1987............... 388,780 35.1 363 36.1 146 40.1 

1986............... 375,095 35.4 353 36.8 141 40.0 

1985............... 363,186 35.0 344 36.0 128 37.3 

1984............... 362,792 35.0 346 36.4 137 39.4 

1983............... 350,309 35.2 337 36.4 130 38.5 

1982............... 354,195 35.8 343 37.0 136 39.6 

1981............... 391,625 35.7 383 36.5 150 39.1 

1980............... 415,668 36.1 410 36.9 161 39.3 

1979............... 414,511 36.4 421 37.1 155 36.9 

1978............... 420,690 36.7 430 37.4 142 33.1 

1977............... 404,133 36.6 416 37.0 139 33.3 

304,133 

303,832 

307,183 

327,234 

338,327 

339,654 

353,734 

365,028 

418,068 

474,137 

470,095 

478,682 

482,922 

102,493 

103,774 

103,579 

106,676 

110,685 

119,760 

134,199 

139,960 

147,453 

156,042 

150,375 

135,518 

143,108 

135,134 

140,526 

153,345 

163,612 

152,996 

139,372 

134,712 

1
 Calculations excluded decedents with unknown age or sex. 2
 Number of YPLL per 100,000 population under age 65. 3
 Number of alcohol-related YPLL expressed as a percentage of total YPLL. 

20 

Table 4. Alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities, according to age, United States, 1977–99. 

Age 

Under 16 16–24 25–44 45–64 Over 64 Unknown All ages

Number ct. Number ct. Number ct. Number ct. Number ct. Number ct. Number ct. 

477 3.8 29.3 45.5 16.5 610 4.9 12 0.1 12,547 100.0 481 3.8 29.3 45.3 16.3 662 5.2 13 0.1 12,663 100.0 516 4.0 27.9 46.4 16.0 708 5.5 21 0.2 12,870 100.0 514 3.8 28.8 46.7 15.2 717 5.3 26 0.2 13,557 100.0 548 4.0 28.4 47.7 14.8 685 4.9 15 0.1 13,881 100.0 606 4.4 30.0 46.1 14.1 724 5.3 12 0.1 13,693 100.0 591 4.2 30.1 46.9 13.6 705 5.0 32 0.2 14,225 100.0 602 4.1 30.4 46.7 13.3 792 5.4 22 0.2 14,684 100.0 595 3.7 33.0 46.1 12.0 813 5.0 35 0.2 16,231 100.0 711 3.9 32.3 46.7 12.5 832 4.6 25 0.1 18,279 100.0 717 3.9 32.8 45.5 12.7 908 4.9 36 0.2 18,381 100.0 789 4.1 36.1 43.4 11.8 865 4.5 30 0.2 19,303 100.0 829 4.2 35.3 44.0 11.6 940 4.7 43 0.2 19,918 100.0 842 4.2 38.4 41.8 11.0 864 4.3 73 0.4 20,038 100.0 742 4.1 37.8 41.2 11.9 824 4.6 79 0.4 18,040 100.0 727 3.9 39.6 40.0 11.7 831 4.5 64 0.3 18,584 100.0 731 4.1 39.6 40.0 12.0 751 4.2 38 0.2 17,861 100.0 794 4.3 41.0 38.8 12.1 768 4.1 64 0.3 18,622 100.0 844 4.1 40.1 38.4 12.9 880 4.3 54 0.3 20,662 100.0 955 4.5 42.4 36.2 12.7 834 4.0 71 0.3 21,114 100.0 972 4.8 42.6 35.4 12.8 819 4.1 70 0.4 20,241 100.0 926 5.0 42.9 34.3 13.2 773 4.2 73 0.4 18,362 100.0 963 5.5 43.2 32.4 14.2 742 4.3 69 0.4 17,414 100.0 

P P P P P P P

3,670 5,707 2,071 

3,709 5,737 2,061 

3,590 5,976 2,059 

3,909 6,337 2,054 

3,948 6,627 2,058 

4,108 6,316 1,927 

4,286 6,675 1,936 

4,463 6,854 1,951 

5,363 7,474 1,951 

5,897 8,530 2,284 

6,019 8,360 2,341 

6,974 8,371 2,274 

7,027 8,766 2,313 

7,685 8,372 2,202 

6,823 7,431 2,141 

7,359 7,427 2,176 

7,064 7,139 2,138 

7,629 7,123 2,244 

8,294 7,923 2,667 

8,941 7,637 2,676 

8,624 7,159 2,597 

7,884 6,290 2,416 

7,528 5,642 2,470 
Table 5. Decedent's role in alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities, United States, 1977–99. 

Decedent's role 

Year Driver assenger Nonoccupant Unknown All

Number ct. 

1

 Number Pct. 

1

 Number Pct. 

1

 Number Pct. 

1

 Number Pct. 

1 

1999............... 8,796 3,150 596 5 5.2 12,547 

1998............... 8,688 3,300 672 3 2.8 12,663 

1997............... 8,813 3,388 661 8 7.0 12,870 

1996............... 9,193 3,647 713 4 3.8 13,557 

1995............... 9,607 3,515 759 0 0.0 13,881 

1994............... 9,428 3,514 751 0 0.0 13,693 

1993............... 9,695 3,717 813 0 0.0 14,225 

1992............... 9,986 3,901 796 1 1.2 14,684 

1991............... 11,024 4,283 922 2 1.6 16,231 

1990............... 12,425 4,775 1,076 3 2.8 18,279 

1989............... 12,662 4,668 1,043 8 10.7 18,381 

1988............... 13,156 5,041 1,096 10 5.3 19,303 

1987............... 13,447 5,257 1,209 5 8.9 19,918 

1986............... 13,501 5,294 1,237 6 5.6 20,038 

1985............... 12,208 4,655 1,177 0 0.0 18,040 

1984............... 12,484 4,780 1,252 7 6.4 18,523 

1983............... 11,776 4,784 1,285 2 1.8 17,847 

1982............... 12,143 5,023 1,450 6 6.7 18,622 

1981............... 13,723 5,455 1,477 7 4.1 20,662 

1980............... 13,851 5,746 1,509 8 5.8 21,114 

1979............... 13,098 5,695 1,450 2 2.0 20,245 

1978............... 11,773 5,273 1,316 0 0.0 18,362 

1977............... 11,064 5,076 1,271 3 2.8 17,414 

P

P

34.8 29.9 10.2 30.1 

35.1 31.3 11.0 30.5 

35.7 31.0 10.5 30.6 

37.6 33.1 11.3 32.4 

39.4 32.6 11.6 33.2 

39.8 33.4 11.7 33.6 

41.9 35.9 12.4 35.5 

44.2 38.2 12.5 37.4 

46.1 40.1 13.6 39.1 

48.3 42.3 14.4 41.0 

48.0 40.2 13.9 40.3 

48.3 42.7 14.0 41.0 

50.1 45.2 15.4 42.9 

50.7 46.1 15.8 43.5 

48.2 43.8 15.1 41.2 

48.8 45.2 15.7 41.9 

48.8 45.2 16.6 41.9 

49.3 46.5 17.7 42.6 

48.7 45.3 16.6 41.9 

48.1 44.3 16.5 41.3 

45.4 43.9 15.8 39.6 

41.6 40.2 15.0 36.5 

42.4 39.6 14.6 36.5 

Indicates the percentage of alcohol involvement among all decedents in the role category. 

22 


1
Table 6. Drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes, according to sex and alcohol involvement, United States, 1977–99. 

Sex 

Male Female Unknown Both sexes 

All Alcohol- involved Percent All Alcohol- involved Percent All Alcohol- involved Percent All Alcohol- involved Percent 

1,012 23.5 14,835 11.6 654 5 0.8 11,381 20.1 0,816 23.8 15,089 11.8 699 4 0.6 11,509 20.3 0,954 24.0 14,954 12.2 780 8 1.0 11,639 20.5 1,223 10,377 25.2 14,798 13.1 772 7 0.9 12,326 21.7 1,235 10,708 26.0 14,184 13.3 745 8 1.1 12,601 22.4 0,233 10,695 26.6 13,567 13.4 749 3 0.4 12,520 23.0 9,514 11,098 28.1 13,064 14.8 765 6 0.8 13,031 24.4 

8,598 11,533 29.9 12,596 15.7 707 12 1.7 13,527 26.1 

0,680 12,845 31.6 12,806 16.2 837 9 1.1 14,931 27.5 4,281 14,618 33.0 13,726 16.8 886 9 1.0 16,939 28.8 5,420 14,555 32.1 14,044 17.1 925 9 1.0 16,965 28.1 7,402 15,529 32.8 13,951 17.1 900 7 0.8 17,920 28.8 6,882 15,926 34.0 13,604 19.0 940 8 0.8 18,524 30.2 6,648 16,193 34.7 12,744 18.2 939 9 1.0 18,517 30.7 4,846 14,496 32.3 12,142 18.3 895 6 0.7 16,725 28.9 4,704 14,946 33.4 11,901 19.1 893 6 0.7 17,225 30.0 2,807 14,440 33.8 10,957 18.6 885 3 0.0 16,483 30.2 4,165 15,090 34.2 10,628 19.2 976 5 0.5 17,137 30.7 0,272 16,947 33.7 11,488 20.0 360 2 0.6 19,246 31.0 1,451 17,141 33.3 11,460 19.5 28 3 10.7 19,380 30.8 2,780 16,540 31.3 11,407 16.7 39 2 5.1 18,450 28.7 2,235 15,019 28.8 11,337 14.9 26 1 3.9 16,714 26.3 8,951 14,199 29.0 10,858 15.0 23 0 0.0 15,827 26.5 

9,656 1,720 56,501 9,724 1,781 56,604 9,807 1,824 56,688 

1,942 56,793 1,885 56,164 1,822 54,549 1,927 53,343 

1,982 51,901 

2,077 54,323 2,309 58,893 2,401 60,398 2,384 62,253 2,590 61,434 2,315 60,331 2,223 57,883 2,273 57,498 2,040 54,649 2,042 55,769 2,297 62,120 2,236 62,939 1,908 64,226 1,694 63,598 1,628 59,832 
Table 7. Drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes and given BAC 1 tests, according to injury severity, 

United States, 1977–99. 

Drivers given BAC tests 

Year Dead live Combined

Number ercent 2 Number Percent 2 Number Percent 2 

1999................................... 18,681 74.0 9,458 30.3 28,139 49.8 

1998................................... 18,192 73.5 9,455 29.7 27,647 48.8 

1997................................... 18,111 73.4 9,533 29.8 27,644 48.8 

1996................................... 17,885 73.1 9,310 28.8 27,195 47.9 

1995................................... 18,635 76.4 9,255 29.1 27,890 49.7 

1994................................... 17,964 75.8 8,612 27.9 26,576 48.7 

1993................................... 17,696 76.5 8,476 28.0 26,172 49.0 

1992................................... 17,660 78.2 8,191 27.9 25,851 49.8 

1991................................... 18,769 78.4 8,515 28.0 27,284 50.2 

1990................................... 20,322 78.9 9,489 28.6 29,811 50.6 

1989................................... 20,972 79.5 9,116 26.9 30,138 49.9 

1988................................... 21,347 78.3 8,942 25.6 30,289 48.7 

1987................................... 20,873 77.8 8,902 25.7 29,775 48.5 

1986................................... 20,575 77.3 8,746 26.0 29,321 48.6 

1985................................... 19,324 76.3 8,362 25.7 27,686 47.8 

1984................................... 18,451 72.1 7,308 22.9 25,759 44.8 

1983................................... 16,257 67.4 6,766 22.2 23,023 42.1 

1982................................... 16,050 65.0 6,787 21.7 22,837 40.8 

1981................................... 16,756 59.4 6,486 19.1 23,242 37.4 

1980................................... 16,591 57.6 6,544 19.2 23,135 36.8 

1979................................... 16,584 57.5 6,239 17.6 22,823 35.5 

1978................................... 15,501 54.8 5,693 16.1 21,194 33.3 

1977................................... 14,316 54.7 5,290 15.6 19,606 32.7 

A

P

1 Blood alcohol concentration. 2

 Drivers given tests as percentage of total drivers. 

24 
8. Drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes and given BAC 1 tests, according to State 2 and injury severity, United States, 1977 and 1999. 

Drivers given BAC tests 

1977 

Dead live Combined Dead live Combined 

Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent 

... 14,316 5,290 19,606 18,681 9,458 28,139 

... 235 111 15.2 346 437 231 668 

... 55 76.4 37 35.2 92 52.0 33 63.5 32 61.5 65 62.5 

... 217 126 343 413 94 507 

... 41 26 6.9 67 9.6 287 167 454 

... 2,299 780 3,079 1,649 722 2,371 

... 346 252 598 330 150 480 

... 176 56 232 141 53 194 

... 50 68 118 57 55 112 

... 13 72.2 14 24.1 27 35.5 0 0.0 4 10.5 4 7.0 

... 534 358 892 998 487 1,485 

... 336 184 520 835 956 1,791 

... 69 88.5 5 4.4 74 38.7 44 89.8 43 46.7 87 61.7 

... 116 47 163 100 69 169 

... 706 41 2.6 747 800 277 1,077 

... 431 148 579 478 445 923 

... 207 53 260 194 190 384 

... 100 46 146 223 157 380 

... 342 131 473 386 207 593 

... 210 215 425 441 456 897 

... 84 26 110 113 114 227 

... 165 33 7.1 198 356 60 416 

... 109 21 3.8 130 232 15 4.8 247 

... 636 200 836 690 422 1,112 

... 256 56 9.8 312 371 298 669 

... 4 13 17 397 63.4 262 44.6 659 54.3 

1999 

A A

P P P P P P

54.7 15.6 32.7 74.0 30.3 49.8 

35.9 25.0 57.3 30.8 44.2 

52.8 19.4 32.4 78.4 11.0 36.7 

12.7 70.5 44.3 57.9 

87.2 21.9 49.7 91.3 25.9 51.7 

88.7 58.2 72.7 87.5 32.5 57.2 

72.4 16.0 39.1 83.4 23.1 48.7 

84.8 68.0 74.2 87.7 63.2 73.7 

53.7 22.8 34.8 62.9 18.5 35.3 

42.3 20.0 30.3 89.9 83.3 86.2 

67.4 26.4 46.6 62.5 36.7 48.6 

59.5 26.9 88.7 24.6 53.1 

58.6 17.1 36.1 69.1 62.3 65.6 

51.8 13.8 33.2 60.4 50.0 54.8 

29.6 12.8 21.0 65.8 43.1 54.1 

65.3 21.2 41.4 65.6 41.2 56.1 

39.0 30.2 34.0 78.9 68.1 73.0 

71.8 19.1 43.5 91.9 85.7 88.7 

48.8 24.6 98.6 12.1 48.4 

31.5 14.5 90.3 43.3 

60.5 13.0 32.2 80.7 36.9 55.6 

55.4 30.1 87.3 61.2 73.4 

1.0 3.0 2.0 
vers involved in fatal traffic crashes and given BAC 1 tests, according to State 2 and injury severity, United States, 1977 and 1999. (Continued) 

Drivers given BAC tests 

1977 

Dead live Combined Dead live Combined 

Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent 

... 167 55 6.9 222 539 95 634 

... 103 6 3.7 109 67 39 106 

... 143 120 263 186 162 348 

... 129 72 201 151 108 259 

... 76 27 103 89 56 145 

... 441 148 589 312 227 539 

... 134 86 220 218 53 271 

... 154 14.4 11 165 505 59.1 46 551 25.8 

... 275 144 419 385 1 0.1 386 

... 28 25.7 29 26.6 57 26.2 57 79.2 16 22.5 73 51.1 

... 499 164 663 727 306 1,033 

... 331 45 8.0 376 361 10 2.0 371 

... 322 136 458 226 126 352 

... 736 241 977 842 267 1,109 

... 59 7 7.8 66 54 8 62 

... 235 74 309 310 52 7.1 362 

... 84 24 108 74 74 148 

... 416 254 670 649 442 1,091 

... 623 206 8.5 829 1,198 881 2,079 

... 105 85 190 115 115 230 

... 33 49.3 26 35.1 59 41.8 47 83.9 22 39.3 69 61.6 

... 418 21 2.7 439 444 4 0.7 448 

... 456 198 654 359 88 447 

... 90 34 124 231 74 305 

... 442 10 1.6 452 436 190 626 

... 80 20 100 94 30 124 

1999 

A A

P P P P P P

24.5 15.1 73.8 12.5 42.6 

60.2 32.5 47.2 34.8 41.7 

69.1 52.0 60.1 93.9 81.0 87.4 

91.5 50.4 70.8 89.4 37.4 56.6 

88.4 25.7 53.9 91.8 62.2 77.5 

82.0 17.3 42.2 81.3 37.7 54.6 

39.3 20.4 28.8 92.0 16.5 48.5 

0.6 5.7 3.6 

36.8 14.4 24.0 40.4 18.3 

48.5 12.2 28.0 77.3 28.5 51.3 

61.5 34.2 80.2 38.5 

91.5 29.3 56.1 91.9 39.1 62.0 

65.4 15.5 36.4 86.4 23.2 52.2 

90.8 42.6 94.7 13.3 53.0 

48.2 12.1 28.1 45.8 25.7 

71.2 19.7 45.0 80.4 73.3 76.7 

59.3 29.2 42.6 74.9 48.5 61.4 

30.5 18.6 57.3 32.7 43.5 

67.8 35.9 46.7 55.0 51.1 53.0 

70.5 32.1 77.1 38.6 

85.7 32.5 57.3 90.0 19.7 52.9 

28.9 10.2 19.2 91.7 28.4 59.5 

86.0 39.5 87.7 36.9 61.9 

57.6 13.9 35.3 83.9 36.1 59.1 

ation. 

the following States had enacted laws requiring BAC tests on drivers killed in traffic accidents: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, 

ansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, 

gon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin (National Highway Traffic Safety 
. Drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes and given BAC 1 tests, according to sex, age, and injury severity, United States, 1977 and 1999 

Drivers given BAC tests 

1977 

Dead live Combined Dead live Combined 

Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent Number ercent 

... 2,368 1,090 3,548 2,099 1,246 3,345 ... 3,449 1,407 4,856 2,545 1,475 4,020 ... 3,514 1,358 4,872 3,799 2,326 6,125 ... 1,683 624 2,307 3,607 1,998 5,605 

... 3,196 780 3,976 6,523 2,346 8,869 

14,210 1 5,259 7 19,469 8 18,573 0 9,391 0 27,964 5 

... 1,996 982 2,978 1,494 959 2,453 ... 2,960 1,272 4,232 2,051 1,207 3,258 ... 3,016 1,231 4,247 2,919 1,836 4,755 ... 1,386 531 1,917 2,707 1,563 4,270 

... 2,595 672 3,267 4,660 1,892 6,552 

11,953 4 4,688 2 16,641 3 13,831 4 7,457 5 21,288 4 

... 372 52.3 9.5 26.0 72.3 26.7 46.7 ... 489 135 624 494 268 762 ... 498 127 8.6 625 880 490 1,370 ... 297 93 390 899 435 1,334 

... 601 108 7.2 709 1,861 454 2,351 

2,257 4 571 9.2 2,828 3 4,739 3 1,934 2 6,673 3 

1999 

A A

P P P P P P

55.5 18.3 33.8 76.2 34.5 52.5 59.2 20.2 37.9 77.8 37.0 55.4 59.1 16.1 33.9 79.7 33.3 52.1 58.0 13.1 30.1 78.4 30.9 50.7 

46.7 10.6 27.9 67.3 25.4 46.9 

55. 15. 32. 74. 31. 50.

56.2 20.4 35.6 77.9 37.8 55.0 

59.9 22.0 39.4 79.7 40.4 58.6 60.2 17.7 35.4 80.0 35.5 53.9 59.3 13.8 31.0 80.2 32.9 52.5 

48.3 11.4 29.0 68.2 27.6 47.9 

56. 17. 34. 75. 33. 52.

108 480 605 287 892 

55.1 11.3 30.0 70.5 26.9 44.8 

53.6 26.0 78.6 26.9 46.6 

52.6 10.3 26.6 73.4 25.5 45.5 

40.7 23.9 65.1 19.1 44.2 

49. 26. 70. 24. 45.

ation. 

al the totals in tables 7 and 8 because drivers under age 16 or having missing data on age are excluded from this table. 

a on sex, the sum of the male and female drivers may not always equal the number for both sexes in a corresponding category. 
Table 10. Percentage 1

 distributions of BAC 2 among alcohol-involved drivers, according to sex and age, 

United States, 1977–99. 

BAC Level 

Sex, year, and age 

0.01–.04 05–.07 08–.09 10–.14 15–.19 20–.24 25–.29 0.30+ 

Both Sexes 

1999 

16–19................. 13.8 7 9.4 3 2 7 5.0 1.0 

20–24................. 9.0 8 7 24.0 26.7 15.7 9 2 

25–34................. 7.5 5.9 6.0 5 1 7 4 4.0 

35–44................. 7.7 4.8 5.0 8 2 3 9 7.4 

45+..................... 13.6 7.2 5.6 5 0 4 0 8.8 

Total 9.6 6.9 6.3 6 4 9 2 5.1 

1998 

16–19................. 15.2 5 9.6 4 2 3 2.9 2.0 

20–24................. 7.4 7 4 25.1 27.1 16.5 9 0 

25–34................. 8.2 6.0 5.3 6 6 3 2 4.9 

35–44................. 7.9 5.3 4.3 7 9 4 3 8.2 

45+..................... 13.7 5.4 4.9 2 3 9 5 9.1 

Total 9.7 6.8 5.6 0 6 2 6 5.7 

1997 

16–19................. 13.1 9.2 4.0 1.5 

20–24................. 9.4 23.8 25.7 17.0 

25–34................. 8.8 19.2 25.5 19.5 

35–44................. 6.3 4.6 5.2 7.9 

45+..................... 12.6 7.0 4.6 16.3 19.3 20.5 12.6 7.2 

Total 9.4 6.9 6.0 7 4 0 5 5.1 

1996 

16–19................. 15.2 8.2 2.7 0.5 

20–24................. 8.7 23.2 26.1 16.1 

25–34................. 7.2 6.4 5.1 5.4 

35–44................. 7.2 5.7 4.7 8.1 

45+..................... 11.0 7.5 4.8 16.2 19.9 19.3 12.9 8.3 

Total 8.9 7.4 5.8 8 1 1 4 5.5 

1995 

16–19................. 14.8 9.0 4.0 1.2 

20–24................. 8.3 23.6 24.4 17.6 

25–34................. 6.8 6.6 5.0 5.6 

35–44................. 7.7 5.9 4.6 7.7 

45+..................... 11.7 6.0 4.4 15.7 20.2 21.5 13.3 7.3 

Total 8.8 7.5 5.9 7 0 1 8 5.3 

1994 

16–19................. 17.1 11.5 28.0 19.5 

20–24................. 8.7 23.5 25.3 16.3 

25–34................. 7.2 6.3 5.2 5.8 

35–44................. 6.7 5.4 3.7 9.8 

45+..................... 10.6 5.9 4.9 15.1 18.8 21.2 13.6 10.0 

Total 8.9 7.0 5.7 9 8 9 5 6.3 

1993 

16–19................. 15.6 11.7 27.9 22.4 

20–24................. 7.1 25.3 25.4 18.7 

25–34................. 6.8 5.9 6.1 6.1 

35–44................. 7.5 5.5 4.4 9.0 

45+..................... 11.4 6.7 4.4 16.5 19.5 17.7 13.6 10.2 

Total 8.5 6.9 5.7 9 6 9 5 6.1 

1992 

16–19................. 13.0 8.2 4.7 1.2 

20–24................. 9.6 22.5 26.0 17.2 

25–34................. 6.2 5.6 5.3 6.1 

35–44................. 7.6 4.9 4.5 8.3 

45+..................... 11.5 7.6 5.3 15.1 18.4 21.4 13.4 7.3 

Total 8.6 6.9 5.8 6 9 5 2 5.5 

1991 

16–19................. 13.7 8.8 3.6 2.0 

20–24................. 7.6 23.9 26.7 17.6 

25–34................. 6.2 5.8 4.8 5.6 

35–44................. 7.1 5.4 3.8 9.2 

45+..................... 11.8 6.2 5.2 14.6 20.5 19.4 12.8 9.6 

Total 8.2 7.0 5.5 3 8 7 8 5.7 

0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

10. 26. 21. 12.

8. 7. 5. 2.

19. 25. 20. 11.

17. 22. 21. 13.

14. 20. 19. 11.

19. 23. 18. 10.

11. 25. 22. 11.

8. 6. 6. 2.

18. 26. 19. 11.

15. 23. 20. 14.

14. 21. 18. 12.

19. 24. 18. 10.

10.9 28.5 22.2 10.6 

7.9 6.7 7.2 2.4 

6.8 6.0 9.9 4.4 

16.5 22.8 22.0 14.7 

19. 23. 19. 10.

11.5 29.9 20.9 11.2 

8.9 8.1 6.7 2.3 

19.7 24.0 21.1 11.1 

16.0 22.6 22.1 13.8 

19. 23. 19. 10.

13.3 10.8 24.9 22.1 

9.7 8.1 6.0 2.3 

20.4 24.9 19.8 10.9 

16.2 21.3 21.0 15.6 

19. 23. 19. 10.

9.4 9.0 3.6 1.9 

8.5 7.6 7.2 2.9 

17.5 24.7 20.9 12.4 

15.3 21.8 21.1 16.2 

18. 22. 18. 11.

7.4 9.6 3.9 1.5 

7.8 6.4 7.0 2.4 

18.8 23.2 22.0 11.1 

15.1 21.0 23.7 13.9 

19. 22. 19. 10.

13.0 25.9 23.7 10.3 

7.7 7.3 7.1 2.6 

18.0 25.4 21.1 12.3 

14.7 22.9 21.9 15.2 

18. 23. 19. 11.

12.3 26.5 20.7 12.5 

8.4 6.7 6.8 2.2 

18.6 24.9 21.9 12.2 

14.6 22.0 22.3 15.7 

19. 23. 19. 10.

28 

Table 10. Percentage 1 distributions of BAC 2 among alcohol-involved drivers, according to sex and age, 

United States, 1977–99. (Continued) 

BAC Level 

Sex, year, and age 

0.01–.04 05–.07 08–.09 10–.14 15–.19 20–.24 25–.29 0.30+ 

Both Sexes 

1990 

16–19................. 13.5 8.8 3.7 1.2 

20–24................. 8.8 24.1 25.4 17.4 

25–34................. 6.7 6.4 4.7 5.5 

35–44................. 7.3 4.7 4.7 9.3 

45+..................... 12.6 6.5 4.9 14.4 20.1 19.8 12.2 9.4 

Total 8.8 6.9 5.4 4 7 7 6 5.7 

1989 

16–19................. 13.6 3.0 1.1 

20–24................. 7.7 24.2 25.1 18.0 

25–34................. 7.0 5.8 5.1 5.8 

35–44................. 6.4 4.9 4.6 9.2 

45+..................... 11.1 6.2 4.4 14.8 20.9 21.5 12.5 8.6 

Total 8.4 6.7 6.1 5 3 0 5 5.5 

1988 

16–19................. 15.0 8.7 3.9 1.5 

20–24................. 8.8 23.6 25.6 17.8 

25–34................. 6.8 6.0 4.8 5.7 

35–44................. 7.3 4.8 3.8 8.5 

45+..................... 12.0 7.2 3.8 14.9 18.6 21.0 13.2 9.4 

Total 9.0 7.4 5.3 4 3 9 3 5.5 

1987 

16–19................. 14.4 9.8 2.4 1.6 

20–24................. 9.0 24.2 25.5 17.0 

25–34................. 6.8 6.3 5.2 5.5 

35–44................. 7.1 5.1 3.7 9.2 

45+..................... 13.0 6.2 3.8 14.8 20.0 20.2 13.0 9.1 

Total 9.1 4 9 19.4 24.1 19.1 8 3 

1986 

16–19................. 12.6 9.3 3.6 1.3 

20–24................. 8.8 22.6 26.4 17.3 

25–34................. 6.9 6.2 5.0 5.4 

35–44................. 6.7 5.9 4.3 8.5 

45+..................... 14.6 6.6 4.8 15.2 18.8 18.8 12.2 9.0 

Total 9.1 5 0 20.1 23.9 18.8 7 9 

1985 

16–19................. 14.3 9.1 3.2 1.1 

20–24................. 7.8 23.5 27.6 16.8 

25–34................. 7.0 6.0 5.1 5.6 

35–44................. 7.0 4.8 5.1 8.7 

45+..................... 12.8 6.2 4.2 15.2 20.8 19.1 12.8 8.8 

Total 8.8 2 7 20.4 24.6 18.7 6 1 

1984 

16–19................. 13.4 9.3 4.7 0.9 

20–24................. 8.0 22.2 26.1 18.3 

25–34................. 6.8 6.3 5.0 5.5 

35–44................. 6.7 5.4 4.1 7.4 

45+..................... 10.8 6.7 4.8 14.1 22.5 19.8 13.1 8.3 

Total 8.5 4 1 19.7 24.8 19.3 5 8 

1983 

16–19................. 9.7 8.8 4.4 1.1 

20–24................. 7.8 22.1 27.6 18.2 

25–34................. 6.5 5.4 4.7 5.6 

35–44................. 5.9 4.4 4.1 8.2 

45+..................... 10.1 6.4 3.9 15.0 19.5 22.2 13.6 9.3 

Total 7.7 6.6 5.5 2 9 8 3 5.1 

1982 

16–19................. 9.6 8.2 5.0 2.0 

20–24................. 7.5 23.2 25.4 18.9 

25–34................. 6.7 5.5 4.3 5.3 

35–44................. 7.0 4.8 4.8 9.5 

45+..................... 9.9 6.3 5.3 14.0 20.1 21.6 13.2 9.7 

Total 7.8 6.6 5.7 1 0 1 2 5.5 

0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

11.3 26.9 22.9 11.8 

7.6 5.8 8.0 2.9 

17.7 24.4 22.8 11.9 

16.3 23.2 20.9 13.7 

19. 23. 19. 10.

11.5 10.2 25.2 22.5 13.0 

7.5 7.5 7.3 2.7 

17.9 24.2 21.9 12.3 

16.6 21.7 22.3 14.4 

19. 23. 20. 10.

12.5 26.2 20.5 11.7 

8.5 6.0 6.7 3.1 

17.4 24.5 22.3 12.6 

15.8 22.8 23.3 13.7 

19. 23. 19. 10.

12.5 25.2 23.2 10.9 

8.7 7.3 6.1 2.4 

17.3 24.8 22.1 12.0 

15.7 24.1 20.9 14.2 

7. 5. 9. 5.

13.0 28.2 21.9 10.1 

7.8 7.1 7.6 2.3 

18.3 25.3 21.5 11.3 

16.6 22.2 22.7 13.1 

7. 6. 9. 4.

11.0 26.9 22.5 12.0 

8.9 5.7 7.0 2.7 

19.2 25.1 20.9 11.2 

16.1 22.6 22.4 13.4 

7. 5. 9. 5.

11.5 25.6 22.8 11.8 

8.2 7.4 7.1 2.9 

18.3 25.3 22.5 10.3 

17.0 24.6 20.9 13.9 

7. 6. 9. 4.

11.0 26.8 24.1 14.2 

7.2 6.2 8.0 2.9 

18.8 25.4 21.8 11.7 

17.7 23.8 21.4 14.6 

20. 24. 19. 10.

10.3 27.1 23.8 14.1 

6.7 6.6 8.0 3.5 

18.4 25.4 22.3 12.1 

16.0 22.1 22.8 13.1 

20. 24. 20. 10.

29 

Table 10. Percentage 1 distributions of BAC 2 among alcohol-involved drivers, according to sex and age, 

United States, 1977–99. (Continued) 

BAC Level 

Sex, year, and age 

0.01–.04 05–.07 08–.09 10–.14 15–.19 20–.24 25–.29 0.30+ 

Both Sexes 

1981 

16–19................. 10.3 28.1 25.5 12.7 

20–24................. 7.2 22.3 26.7 19.1 

25–34................. 6.3 5.8 4.9 6.3 

35–44................. 5.6 4.8 4.1 

45+..................... 10.0 5.1 5.4 14.0 19.8 23.0 13.7 9.0 

Total 7.5 7 9 19.5 24.7 20.2 9 6 

1980 

16–19................. 10.4 8.6 4.1 2.0 

20–24................. 8.5 23.3 25.3 17.7 

25–34................. 6.8 5.3 4.5 5.8 

35–44................. 6.7 4.5 2.9 9.4 

45+..................... 7.3 5.7 4.4 14.3 21.0 21.6 14.7 11.0 

Total 7.9 6.8 5.6 3 3 4 1 5.5 

1979 

16–19................. 11.3 3.8 1.8 

20–24................. 6.4 23.7 25.9 18.9 

25–34................. 5.7 5.7 4.8 5.3 

35–44................. 6.9 4.9 3.9 

45+..................... 8.3 5.2 3.5 14.1 20.7 24.1 14.8 9.4 

Total 7.4 3 9 20.6 24.4 19.4 7 3 

1978 

16–19................. 12.9 9.4 3.2 1.3 

20–24................. 8.3 23.7 25.1 19.0 

25–34................. 6.6 5.4 4.7 5.7 

35–44................. 6.5 6.3 3.5 9.4 

45+..................... 8.4 6.0 4.3 14.1 20.6 21.9 14.3 10.4 

Total 8.4 2 8 20.7 23.7 19.4 7 3 

1977 

16–19................. 12.3 8.8 3.6 1.6 

20–24................. 8.3 22.6 26.1 18.8 

25–34................. 6.8 5.3 4.8 6.6 

35–44................. 6.7 4.3 4.5 8.8 

45+..................... 9.6 4.1 3.9 16.2 19.9 21.6 14.3 10.4 

Total 8.6 7 0 21.0 23.6 19.0 7 6 

Male 

1999 

16–19................. 11.9 7 3 3 1 3 4.8 0.7 

20–24................. 8.7 7 0 23.8 27.3 15.5 8 1 

25–34................. 6.9 5.9 6.5 4 6 2 6 3.9 

35–44................. 8.0 2.6 4.8 9 9 3 3 7.3 

45+..................... 12.5 7.2 5.4 0 9 1 8 9.1 

Total 9.1 6.9 6.6 8 4 0 2 5.0 

1998 

16–19................. 14.7 5 5 2 7 9 3.2 2.2 

20–24................. 7.0 5 3 25.5 27.0 16.9 7 0 

25–34................. 8.0 5.8 5.2 8 0 9 3 5.2 

35–44................. 7.6 4.9 4.6 6 4 5 2 8.3 

45+..................... 12.9 5.1 4.9 9 0 6 0 9.6 

Total 9.3 6.5 5.7 1 8 2 6 5.8 

1997 

16–19................. 12.9 9.1 3.5 1.1 

20–24................. 9.1 23.9 25.9 17.5 

25–34................. 8.7 19.6 24.9 19.8 

35–44................. 6.2 4.4 5.0 7.7 

45+..................... 11.5 7.0 4.7 16.4 19.6 20.6 12.9 7.3 

Total 9.1 6.7 5.9 9 5 1 6 5.2 

0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

9.6 8.7 3.9 1.3 

7.7 6.5 7.2 3.1 

17.3 25.1 22.3 12.1 

14.9 23.6 23.4 13.5 10.2 

6. 5. 9. 5.

10.5 26.3 24.4 13.7 

7.8 6.8 7.6 3.0 

19.2 25.0 21.7 11.8 

15.4 23.8 23.1 14.2 

20. 24. 19. 10.

11.6 10.4 26.4 22.5 12.2 

8.4 6.2 7.3 3.2 

20.4 26.7 20.3 11.0 

13.2 22.5 23.7 14.8 10.1 

7. 5. 9. 5.

10.8 27.8 22.0 12.6 

7.8 6.6 7.0 2.5 

19.8 26.2 20.7 11.0 

14.4 21.2 23.4 15.4 

7. 5. 9. 5.

11.1 29.4 22.5 10.6 

7.8 7.2 6.3 3.0 

18.7 24.1 21.5 12.3 

16.4 22.6 21.9 14.7 

6. 6. 9. 5.

10. 10. 27. 22. 12.

8. 8. 5. 2.

19. 24. 21. 11.

17. 21. 21. 14.

15. 19. 20. 10.

19. 23. 19. 10.

11. 10. 25. 21. 10.

8. 6. 6. 2.

18. 27. 18. 11.

15. 24. 20. 14.

13. 21. 19. 13.

19. 24. 18. 10.

11.3 28.7 22.2 11.1 

6.9 7.0 7.4 2.4 

6.8 5.6 9.7 4.9 

16.5 23.4 21.5 15.2 

19. 23. 19. 10.

30 

Table 10. Percentage 1 distributions of BAC 2 among alcohol-involved drivers, according to sex and age, 

United States, 1977–99. (Continued) 

BAC Level 

Sex, year, and age 

0.01–.04 05–.07 08–.09 10–.14 15–.19 20–.24 25–.29 0.30+ 

Male 

1996 

16–19................. 15.1 7.9 2.9 0.6 

20–24................. 8.2 23.8 26.2 16.4 

25–34................. 7.1 6.5 5.2 5.7 

35–44................. 6.8 5.5 4.6 8.5 

45+..................... 10.6 7.4 4.7 15.9 20.2 19.7 13.2 8.4 

Total 8.6 7.3 5.8 0 0 3 5 5.6 

1995 

16–19................. 14.2 9.4 3.8 1.3 

20–24................. 7.8 24.2 24.6 17.8 

25–34................. 6.7 6.4 5.0 5.6 

35–44................. 7.5 5.6 4.7 8.0 

45+..................... 10.9 5.6 4.4 15.5 20.7 21.7 13.7 7.5 

Total 8.4 7.3 5.9 8 0 3 0 5.4 

1994 

16–19................. 16.0 11.6 28.3 19.7 

20–24................. 8.3 23.7 25.5 16.5 

25–34................. 7.3 6.1 5.3 5.7 

35–44................. 6.0 5.3 3.8 

45+..................... 10.1 5.8 4.9 15.1 18.3 21.9 14.0 10.1 

Total 8.5 6.8 5.8 9 9 1 6 6.4 

1993 

16–19................. 14.8 11.5 28.9 22.8 

20–24................. 6.7 25.7 25.4 18.8 

25–34................. 6.7 6.1 6.0 5.8 

35–44................. 7.1 5.5 4.4 8.5 

45+..................... 10.6 6.2 4.5 16.0 19.3 18.7 13.6 11.0 

Total 8.1 6.8 5.6 3 6 0 6 6.0 

1992 

16–19................. 12.1 7.8 4.6 1.3 

20–24................. 8.9 22.8 26.0 17.7 

25–34................. 6.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 

35–44................. 7.7 5.0 4.5 8.5 

45+..................... 10.8 7.4 4.9 15.4 18.9 21.5 13.4 7.8 

Total 8.3 6.7 5.7 9 8 8 2 5.7 

1991 

16–19................. 12.9 8.6 3.6 2.2 

20–24................. 7.2 24.2 26.5 17.9 

25–34................. 6.1 5.7 5.0 5.5 

35–44................. 6.5 5.2 3.6 9.5 

45+..................... 11.3 5.5 5.1 14.1 20.6 20.2 13.1 10.0 

Total 7.8 6.8 5.5 3 8 1 9 5.8 

1990 

16–19................. 12.4 8.4 3.8 1.3 

20–24................. 8.3 25.0 25.1 17.3 

25–34................. 6.8 6.4 4.6 5.5 

35–44................. 6.5 4.4 4.9 9.6 

45+..................... 11.8 6.4 4.8 14.6 20.6 20.0 12.1 9.7 

Total 8.3 6.8 5.3 7 7 9 6 5.8 

1989 

16–19................. 12.8 9.6 2.7 1.1 

20–24................. 7.5 24.1 25.1 18.0 

25–34................. 6.6 5.8 5.2 5.9 

35–44................. 6.3 5.1 4.1 9.6 

45+..................... 10.6 6.3 4.2 14.7 21.3 21.5 12.6 8.9 

Total 8.0 6.8 5.9 5 5 0 6 5.7 

1988 

16–19................. 14.4 8.5 3.5 1.5 

20–24................. 8.6 23.6 25.3 18.1 

25–34................. 6.7 5.9 4.7 5.5 

35–44................. 6.9 5.0 3.5 8.6 

45+..................... 10.5 7.3 3.7 14.7 18.6 21.1 14.2 9.9 

Total 8.6 7.5 5.2 5 3 1 5 5.5 

0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

10.8 30.2 20.3 12.3 

8.6 7.9 6.5 2.4 

19.8 23.7 21.0 11.1 

15.8 22.2 22.4 14.2 

20. 23. 19. 10.

13.2 10.9 25.1 22.0 

9.5 7.9 6.0 2.2 

20.1 24.8 20.2 11.2 

16.4 21.0 21.0 16.0 

19. 23. 19. 11.

9.6 9.2 3.6 2.0 

8.2 7.6 7.3 2.9 

17.6 24.8 20.8 12.5 

14.6 22.2 21.4 16.4 10.4 

18. 22. 19. 11.

7.3 9.3 4.0 1.4 

7.7 6.3 7.0 2.2 

19.4 23.1 21.6 11.4 

15.1 21.3 24.2 13.9 

20. 22. 20. 10.

13.4 26.0 24.4 10.3 

7.3 7.2 7.1 2.9 

18.5 25.0 21.7 12.2 

14.4 22.8 21.7 15.4 

18. 23. 19. 11.

11.6 27.0 21.3 12.8 

8.2 6.7 7.0 2.4 

18.5 24.8 22.2 12.1 

14.2 22.2 22.7 16.1 

19. 23. 20. 10.

11.1 27.7 23.1 12.4 

7.7 5.5 8.3 2.8 

17.7 24.3 22.8 12.0 

16.1 23.4 21.5 13.6 

19. 23. 19. 10.

11.7 25.6 23.3 13.4 

7.5 7.6 7.4 2.8 

18.0 24.3 21.7 12.5 

16.4 21.6 22.3 14.6 

19. 23. 20. 10.

13.1 26.4 20.7 11.8 

8.6 6.1 6.7 3.0 

17.4 24.6 22.3 12.8 

16.0 22.8 23.5 13.8 

19. 23. 20. 10.

31 

Table 10. Percentage 1 distributions of BAC 2 among alcohol-involved drivers, according to sex and age, 

United States, 1977–99. (Continued) 

BAC Level 

Sex, year, and age 

0.01–.04 05–.07 08–.09 10–.14 15–.19 20–.24 25–.29 0.30+ 

Male 

1987 

16–19................. 13.5 9.9 2.4 1.7 

20–24................. 9.1 23.9 25.7 16.9 

25–34................. 6.5 6.2 5.4 5.5 

35–44................. 6.7 4.7 3.6 9.4 

45+..................... 11.9 6.1 3.8 14.9 20.6 20.4 12.8 9.5 

Total 8.7 7.3 6.0 5 2 0 0 5.4 

1986 

16–19................. 12.3 9.4 3.3 1.4 

20–24................. 8.7 22.6 26.6 17.4 

25–34................. 6.8 6.2 4.8 5.5 

35–44................. 6.2 5.8 4.2 8.4 

45+..................... 13.6 6.5 5.0 15.1 19.3 18.8 12.4 9.4 

Total 8.8 4 9 20.3 24.1 18.9 7 0 

1985 

16–19................. 13.9 9.1 3.1 1.1 

20–24................. 7.9 23.4 27.8 16.8 

25–34................. 6.5 5.7 4.9 5.7 

35–44................. 6.7 4.5 5.0 8.8 

45+..................... 11.6 6.2 4.1 15.2 20.7 19.9 13.6 8.9 

Total 8.4 0 6 20.3 24.9 19.0 7 2 

1984 

16–19................. 12.8 8.9 5.0 0.9 

20–24................. 7.7 22.5 26.6 17.8 

25–34................. 6.4 6.3 5.0 5.8 

35–44................. 6.6 5.2 4.1 7.5 

45+..................... 10.5 6.6 4.7 14.5 22.3 19.8 13.3 8.4 

Total 8.1 3 1 19.8 24.9 19.3 7 9 

1983 

16–19................. 9.4 9.2 4.3 0.9 

20–24................. 7.7 22.5 27.4 17.9 

25–34................. 6.5 5.4 4.8 5.7 

35–44................. 5.9 4.3 4.2 8.2 

45+..................... 9.7 6.5 4.1 15.0 19.1 22.4 13.5 9.7 

Total 7.5 6.6 5.6 1 8 9 3 5.2 

1982 

16–19................. 9.2 8.1 5.0 2.0 

20–24................. 7.4 23.4 25.6 19.0 

25–34................. 6.4 5.7 4.2 5.5 

35–44................. 6.4 4.5 4.8 

45+..................... 9.3 5.9 5.1 13.3 20.6 22.4 13.6 9.9 

Total 7.5 6.5 5.6 0 2 2 4 5.6 

1981 

16–19................. 9.9 28.3 25.4 12.5 

20–24................. 7.4 22.2 26.8 19.3 

25–34................. 5.9 5.8 4.9 6.4 

35–44................. 5.5 4.6 3.9 

45+..................... 9.2 5.0 5.1 14.0 19.6 23.7 14.2 9.2 

Total 7.3 6.6 5.7 5 6 5 2 5.7 

1980 

16–19................. 10.6 8.4 4.0 2.1 

20–24................. 8.4 23.4 25.1 17.7 

25–34................. 6.6 5.3 4.5 5.8 

35–44................. 7.1 4.5 2.9 9.7 

45+..................... 7.4 6.0 4.4 14.5 20.0 21.8 15.2 10.8 

Total 7.9 6.8 5.6 2 2 4 2 5.6 

1979 

16–19................. 10.7 4.1 1.7 

20–24................. 6.4 23.5 25.9 19.3 

25–34................. 5.6 5.6 4.7 5.2 

35–44................. 6.8 4.8 4.0 

45+..................... 8.2 5.1 3.5 14.0 20.8 24.2 14.7 9.5 

Total 7.2 2 8 20.7 24.6 19.5 8 2 

0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

12.9 25.8 23.0 10.9 

8.5 7.6 6.0 2.3 

17.3 24.8 22.0 12.3 

15.9 24.3 20.8 14.7 

19. 24. 19. 10.

12.2 29.3 21.9 10.2 

8.0 7.0 7.4 2.3 

18.4 25.5 21.4 11.4 

16.6 22.2 23.3 13.3 

7. 5. 9. 5.

10.9 26.9 22.6 12.5 

8.4 5.8 7.0 2.9 

19.2 25.6 21.3 11.1 

15.9 23.1 22.4 13.5 

7. 5. 9. 5.

11.2 26.0 23.5 11.9 

8.0 7.7 6.9 2.9 

18.3 25.2 22.5 10.5 

16.6 24.2 21.5 14.3 

7. 6. 9. 4.

10.7 27.1 23.7 14.7 

7.1 6.4 8.1 3.0 

18.5 25.7 21.9 11.5 

17.2 23.9 21.7 14.8 

20. 24. 19. 10.

10.2 27.6 24.0 13.8 

6.8 6.6 7.9 3.4 

18.2 25.3 22.4 12.4 

15.6 22.1 22.5 14.0 10.1 

20. 24. 20. 10.

9.6 8.8 4.2 1.4 

7.8 6.2 7.2 3.2 

17.4 24.9 22.5 12.3 

14.7 23.3 23.4 13.8 10.7 

19. 24. 20. 10.

10.5 26.3 24.9 13.2 

7.8 6.9 7.6 3.1 

18.9 25.2 21.8 12.0 

14.4 23.7 23.2 14.5 

20. 24. 19. 10.

11.8 10.1 26.5 23.2 11.9 

8.2 6.2 7.4 3.0 

20.9 26.9 20.4 10.9 

13.3 22.3 23.3 15.2 10.3 

7. 5. 9. 5.

32 

Table 10. Percentage 1 distributions of BAC 2 among alcohol-involved drivers, according to sex and age, 

United States, 1977–99. (Continued) 

BAC Level 

Sex, year, and age 

0.01–.04 05–.07 08–.09 10–.14 15–.19 20–.24 25–.29 0.30+ 

Male 

1978 

16–19................. 12.3 9.9 3.3 1.2 

20–24................. 8.3 23.8 25.2 18.8 

25–34................. 6.3 5.0 4.9 5.8 

35–44................. 6.3 6.2 3.5 9.8 

45+..................... 8.1 6.1 4.1 13.8 20.6 22.9 13.6 10.9 

Total 8.1 1 9 20.8 23.8 19.3 7 4 

1977 

16–19................. 12.4 8.6 3.4 1.7 

20–24................. 8.1 22.6 26.3 18.8 

25–34................. 6.7 5.2 4.8 6.7 

35–44................. 5.9 4.0 3.8 8.8 

45+..................... 8.7 3.9 4.1 16.6 19.9 21.9 14.5 10.5 

Total 8.3 6 8 21.1 23.8 19.1 7 6 

Female 

1999 

16–19................. 23.7 8 4.3 9 6 1 5.8 2.9 

20–24................. 11.6 6 0 25.1 21.6 17.6 5 0 

25–34................. 10.6 5.9 3.6 7 4 9 4 4.5 

35–44................. 6.3 5.8 6.1 2 8 3 9 7.6 

45+..................... 21.7 6.9 6.9 6 2 8 0 6.9 

Total 12.6 7.0 5.1 5 5 9 1 5.4 

1998 

16–19................. 18.3 9 4.0 2 6 5 0.8 0.8 

20–24................. 9.9 3 6.9 3 5 3 7.7 2.2 

25–34................. 9.3 6.7 5.8 7 7 6 5 3.7 

35–44................. 9.0 7.2 3.5 2 7 9 8 7.9 

45+..................... 19.0 9 2 16.0 22.8 14.7 5 0 

Total 11.6 7.9 5.0 4 9 0 3 4.8 

1997 

16–19................. 13.9 27.7 21.9 

20–24................. 11.4 4.3 5.6 2.4 

25–34................. 9.2 6.5 8.1 2.0 

35–44................. 6.3 5.3 6.1 8.6 

45+..................... 18.4 7.0 4.0 15.4 17.7 19.9 11.0 6.6 

Total 10.9 7.6 6.4 5 0 4 1 4.9 

1996 

16–19................. 15.4 15.4 28.7 24.3 

20–24................. 13.2 9.1 7.8 1.8 

25–34................. 7.9 5.5 5.0 4.2 

35–44................. 8.6 6.2 5.2 6.4 

45+..................... 13.7 8.4 5.6 18.1 18.5 16.9 11.2 7.6 

Total 10.4 7.8 6.1 1 7 0 1 4.6 

1995 

16–19................. 17.9 13.8 23.6 22.8 

20–24................. 11.6 6.0 2.8 

25–34................. 7.4 22.1 25.7 17.7 

35–44................. 9.1 7.3 4.0 6.3 

45+..................... 17.2 8.2 4.5 16.4 16.8 20.1 10.7 6.2 

Total 10.9 8 7 19.0 23.0 17.9 8 0 

1994 

16–19................. 23.2 11.3 26.1 18.3 

20–24................. 11.2 7.7 6.6 3.5 

25–34................. 7.0 7.2 4.9 6.5 

35–44................. 9.6 6.2 3.1 6.5 

45+..................... 14.4 7.2 4.8 15.4 22.1 15.9 10.6 9.6 

Total 11.0 8.0 5.3 8 3 8 9 5.9 

0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

10.8 28.3 22.3 12.0 

7.8 6.7 7.1 2.4 

19.9 26.5 20.3 11.3 

14.9 20.1 23.8 15.5 

7. 5. 9. 5.

10.7 30.0 22.2 11.1 

8.0 6.9 6.2 3.0 

18.5 24.4 21.5 12.2 

16.6 23.5 21.9 15.6 

6. 5. 9. 5.

10. 20. 16. 15.

9. 5. 6. 3.

19. 27. 17. 10.

17. 23. 21. 11.

10. 21. 13. 12.

18. 23. 17. 10.

11. 26. 24. 13.

10. 22. 27. 13.

17. 24. 21. 10.

16. 21. 19. 14.

6. 5. 9. 6.

18. 23. 18. 10.

8.8 9.5 8.0 6.6 3.7 

15.2 23.3 24.8 12.9 

17.1 28.3 18.2 10.6 

16.5 20.3 24.3 12.7 

18. 23. 18. 10.

9.6 5.2 1.5 0.0 

11.0 18.7 25.1 13.2 

19.2 25.2 21.7 11.2 

16.8 24.0 20.7 12.1 

19. 23. 18. 10.

9.8 6.5 4.9 0.8 

10.8 10.0 19.2 23.2 16.4 

7.9 4.6 9.2 5.4 

14.9 23.2 21.2 13.9 

8. 5. 9. 5.

8.5 7.8 3.5 1.4 

10.8 22.0 23.6 14.7 

16.6 24.4 21.3 12.1 

18.7 20.1 20.1 15.6 

18. 22. 17. 10.

33 

Table 10. Percentage 1 distributions of BAC 2 among alcohol-involved drivers, according to sex and age, 

United States, 1977–99. (Continued) 

BAC Level 

Sex, year, and age 

0.01–.04 05–.07 08–.09 10–.14 15–.19 20–.24 25–.29 0.30+ 

Female 

1993 

16–19................. 21.0 8.1 3.2 2.4 

20–24................. 9.8 22.3 25.3 17.4 

25–34................. 7.0 15.4 23.7 24.2 

35–44................. 9.5 5.9 4.4 

45+..................... 16.7 10.4 3.7 19.8 21.4 10.4 13.0 4.7 

Total 10.5 3 0 17.6 22.3 19.4 9 0 

1992 

16–19................. 18.1 4.9 0.7 

20–24................. 14.1 8.1 7.2 0.9 

25–34................. 6.9 8.2 4.8 6.4 

35–44................. 6.8 4.0 5.0 7.4 

45+..................... 15.9 8.9 7.5 13.3 15.5 21.2 13.3 4.4 

Total 10.6 8.1 6.4 3 0 8 2 4.7 

1991 

16–19................. 17.7 9.9 3.7 1.0 

20–24................. 10.5 22.3 28.1 16.3 

25–34................. 7.0 6.2 3.6 6.2 

35–44................. 10.2 6.7 5.1 7.3 

45+..................... 15.2 10.4 5.7 18.0 19.9 13.7 10.4 6.6 

Total 10.6 7 5 19.7 23.5 17.4 9 8 

1990 

16–19................. 20.6 8.3 2.9 0.5 

20–24................. 12.7 18.0 27.3 18.3 

25–34................. 6.2 6.3 5.6 5.3 

35–44................. 12.5 6.6 2.8 7.2 

45+..................... 17.4 7.2 5.5 13.6 17.4 18.6 13.1 7.2 

Total 11.8 7.3 6.2 8 6 4 1 4.9 

1989 

16–19................. 17.8 5.0 0.8 

20–24................. 9.3 24.3 25.9 17.4 

25–34................. 9.4 5.9 4.8 5.0 

35–44................. 7.1 3.7 7.4 6.8 

45+..................... 14.5 6.1 6.1 15.3 18.2 21.4 12.1 6.5 

Total 10.7 5 9 19.2 22.4 20.1 9 4 

1988 

16–19................. 18.5 24.5 19.3 11.2 

20–24................. 10.3 23.3 28.0 16.0 

25–34................. 8.0 6.8 4.8 6.6 

35–44................. 10.5 3.3 5.6 8.2 

45+..................... 22.1 6.8 4.3 16.2 18.7 20.0 6.0 6.0 

Total 12.1 6 6 18.9 23.2 19.0 2 4 

1987 

16–19................. 19.8 9.1 2.4 1.2 

20–24................. 7.9 5.4 7.0 2.9 

25–34................. 9.0 17.2 24.4 22.6 

35–44................. 9.7 7.5 4.1 8.4 

45+..................... 19.7 7.0 3.5 14.0 16.2 18.9 14.5 6.1 

Total 11.6 3 1 19.0 23.0 19.2 0 9 

1986 

16–19................. 14.6 17.4 21.6 21.6 

20–24................. 9.7 23.2 25.1 16.7 

25–34................. 8.0 6.4 6.4 4.9 

35–44................. 9.8 7.0 4.9 9.0 

45+..................... 21.5 7.2 3.6 15.7 15.3 19.3 10.8 6.7 

Total 11.4 4 6 19.3 22.6 18.0 5 3 

1985 

16–19................. 16.9 11.4 26.5 22.4 

20–24................. 6.9 5.5 6.9 1.8 

25–34................. 10.2 8.1 6.5 4.9 

35–44................. 8.7 6.4 5.7 8.0 

45+..................... 20.9 6.4 5.0 15.5 21.8 14.1 8.2 8.2 

Total 11.4 1 3 20.8 22.6 16.4 0 5 

0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

12.9 21.8 19.4 11.3 

8.3 7.2 6.4 3.4 

5.3 6.8 9.7 7.9 

14.8 19.2 21.0 13.9 11.2 

7. 6. 9. 7.

10.4 10.4 25.7 19.4 10.4 

10.3 20.0 25.9 13.4 

15.8 27.4 17.8 12.7 

16.4 23.8 22.9 13.6 

17. 24. 17. 11.

16.2 24.0 19.2 10.4 

9.9 6.6 5.2 1.1 

18.7 25.6 20.0 12.7 

16.8 20.3 20.3 13.3 

8. 5. 9. 4.

12.8 11.3 22.1 21.6 

6.9 7.7 5.8 3.2 

17.9 25.0 22.3 11.5 

17.6 21.9 16.9 14.4 

17. 23. 18. 10.

10.7 13.2 23.1 18.2 11.2 

7.4 6.8 7.1 1.9 

17.3 23.6 23.2 10.8 

17.5 22.2 22.2 13.2 

6. 6. 9. 4.

9.2 9.6 6.0 1.6 

7.3 5.3 6.8 3.3 

17.1 23.5 22.0 11.2 

14.4 23.0 22.0 13.1 

6. 5. 9. 5.

10.3 21.7 24.5 11.1 

10.1 25.9 23.4 17.3 

7.1 4.4 9.9 5.4 

14.6 23.1 21.5 11.2 

8. 5. 9. 4.

9.1 9.8 5.2 0.7 

6.4 7.7 9.0 2.2 

17.5 23.9 22.4 10.6 

16.8 22.5 18.4 11.5 

8. 6. 9. 4.

9.1 9.1 3.7 0.9 

12.1 24.3 25.9 16.7 

19.7 21.7 17.3 11.6 

17.1 19.7 22.0 12.5 

9. 6. 9. 4.

34 

Table 10. Percentage 1 distributions of BAC 2 among alcohol-involved drivers, according to sex and age, 

United States, 1977–99. (Continued) 

BAC Level 

Sex, year, and age 

0.01–.04 05–.07 08–.09 10–.14 15–.19 20–.24 25–.29 0.30+ 

Female 

1984 

16–19................. 16.8 3.3 0.8 

20–24................. 9.7 20.2 23.2 21.3 

25–34................. 9.6 18.6 26.0 22.6 

35–44................. 7.6 6.8 4.4 6.4 

45+..................... 13.0 7.3 5.8 11.6 23.7 19.3 11.6 7.7 

Total 10.8 3 9 19.0 24.1 19.4 6 0 

1983 

16–19................. 11.3 6.3 5.0 2.3 

20–24................. 9.1 19.0 29.0 20.5 

25–34................. 6.5 5.7 4.2 5.2 

35–44................. 5.6 5.1 3.7 8.4 

45+..................... 13.2 5.4 3.0 15.0 22.2 20.4 14.4 6.6 

Total 8.6 7.1 4.6 6 0 9 4 4.7 

1982 

16–19................. 11.6 9.1 5.2 1.7 

20–24................. 8.8 21.8 24.6 18.1 

25–34................. 9.2 20.2 26.6 21.2 

35–44................. 10.3 18.4 22.0 24.2 

45+..................... 14.1 8.9 6.3 18.8 16.7 16.2 10.9 8.3 

Total 10.3 9 4 20.7 23.2 19.3 6 5 

1981 

16–19................. 12.4 26.9 25.8 13.8 

20–24................. 5.8 23.3 26.3 18.0 

25–34................. 9.0 6.1 4.9 5.6 

35–44................. 6.0 5.5 5.1 6.9 

45+..................... 16.6 6.1 7.7 14.4 21.6 17.1 9.4 7.2 

Total 9.3 9 9 20.0 25.6 18.6 2 4 

1980 

16–19................. 8.8 4.6 1.3 

20–24................. 9.1 22.1 26.7 18.1 

25–34................. 9.0 5.4 4.6 5.1 

35–44................. 4.1 4.6 2.6 7.1 

45+..................... 6.4 4.1 4.6 13.3 28.0 19.7 11.5 12.4 

Total 7.9 8 5 21.4 24.7 19.5 0 1 

1979 

16–19................. 15.6 1.7 2.5 

20–24................. 6.5 25.2 26.2 15.4 

25–34................. 6.9 7.5 5.6 5.9 

35–44................. 7.8 6.0 3.6 8.4 

45+..................... 8.7 6.2 3.7 14.3 19.9 23.6 14.9 8.7 

Total 8.9 3 4 19.7 23.2 18.9 9 7 

1978 

16–19................. 18.0 5.8 2.1 1.6 

20–24................. 8.7 22.9 23.7 21.4 

25–34................. 10.1 18.3 23.1 23.9 

35–44................. 8.2 7.4 3.0 5.9 

45+..................... 11.0 5.5 6.1 17.1 20.1 14.0 20.1 6.1 

Total 11.1 0 8 19.4 23.2 20.0 4 2 

1977 

16–19................. 12.0 7.3 5.2 1.6 

20–24................. 10.1 22.4 23.9 18.3 

25–34................. 7.3 5.7 4.9 5.7 

35–44................. 12.1 15.3 17.2 22.3 

45+..................... 15.6 5.6 2.8 13.3 20.6 20.0 12.8 9.4 

Total 11.0 4 3 19.8 21.7 18.0 6 2 

0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

13.5 11.5 23.4 19.3 11.5 

9.3 5.2 8.4 2.8 

6.2 4.6 8.6 3.8 

19.1 26.7 17.5 11.6 

8. 5. 8. 4.

12.6 24.8 26.1 11.7 

7.4 5.4 7.1 2.6 

21.6 23.1 20.6 13.2 

21.5 23.4 19.2 13.1 

20. 25. 18. 10.

10.8 23.7 22.0 16.0 

6.5 6.8 9.3 4.2 

4.4 5.4 9.2 3.8 

6.3 4.9 8.1 5.8 

6. 6. 8. 4.

9.5 8.1 2.5 1.1 

7.2 9.0 7.4 2.9 

16.8 26.9 20.6 10.2 

16.1 25.2 23.4 11.9 

6. 6. 8. 4.

10.8 10.0 26.7 20.8 17.1 

8.3 5.6 7.7 2.4 

21.8 23.3 20.8 10.0 

21.9 25.0 22.5 12.2 

6. 5. 9. 5.

10.3 12.4 25.5 17.7 14.4 

9.9 5.5 6.5 4.9 

16.5 25.6 19.6 12.5 

12.1 24.1 26.5 11.5 

8. 6. 8. 5.

10.6 24.3 20.1 17.5 

7.5 6.0 6.4 3.4 

8.6 3.0 8.2 4.9 

10.4 30.4 20.0 14.8 

8. 4. 9. 4.

13.5 10.4 25.0 25.0 

6.3 9.3 7.5 2.2 

20.7 20.7 21.9 13.4 

6.4 8.9 8.9 8.9 

7. 7. 9. 5.

1

 Percentage is computed only for those drivers having known age and positive BAC scores. 2

 Blood alcohol concentration (in grams per deciliter). 

35 
Table 11. Alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities associated with young drivers ages 16 to 24, according to 

decedent's role, United States, 1977–99. 

Decedent's role in crash 1 

Year Driver assenger Nonoccupant All

Number Pct. Number Pct. Number Pct. Number ct. 

1999................................................... 2,403 1,397 133 3.4 3,934 100.0 

1998................................................... 2,353 1,444 139 3.5 3,936 100.0 

1997................................................... 2,305 1,493 148 3.7 3,947 100.0 

1996................................................... 2,479 1,587 164 3.9 4,231 100.0 

1995................................................... 2,609 1,521 160 3.7 4,290 100.0 

1994................................................... 2,726 1,540 172 3.9 4,438 100.0 

1993................................................... 2,836 1,675 188 4.0 4,699 100.0 

1992................................................... 2,942 1,722 209 4.3 4,873 100.0 

1991................................................... 3,557 2,010 219 3.8 5,788 100.0 

1990................................................... 3,934 2,220 285 4.4 6,441 100.0 

1989................................................... 4,183 2,232 311 4.6 6,726 100.0 

1988................................................... 4,759 2,556 314 4.1 7,629 100.0 

1987................................................... 4,832 2,600 392 5.0 7,827 100.0 

1986................................................... 5,273 2,802 403 4.7 8,483 100.0 

1985................................................... 4,706 2,360 396 5.3 7,462 100.0 

1984................................................... 5,075 2,636 418 5.1 8,132 100.0 

1983................................................... 4,724 2,608 452 5.8 7,784 100.0 

1982................................................... 5,088 2,787 531 6.3 8,409 100.0 

1981................................................... 5,652 3,046 545 5.9 9,246 100.0 

1980................................................... 6,047 3,319 545 5.5 9,918 100.0 

1979................................................... 5,741 3,373 563 5.8 9,683 100.0 

1978................................................... 5,156 3,058 490 5.7 8,704 100.0 

1977................................................... 4,911 3,041 449 5.3 8,403 100.0 

P

P

61.1 35.5 

59.8 36.7 

58.4 37.8 

58.6 37.5 

60.8 35.5 

61.4 34.7 

60.4 35.6 

60.4 35.3 

61.5 34.7 

61.1 34.5 

62.2 33.2 

62.4 33.5 

61.7 33.2 

62.2 33.0 

63.1 31.6 

62.4 32.4 

60.7 33.5 

60.5 33.1 

61.1 32.9 

61.0 33.5 

59.3 34.8 

59.2 35.1 

58.4 36.2 

There were 2, 6, 7, 3, 3, 3, 5, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, and 1 cases of unknown decedent's role for the years 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 

1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, and 1999 respectively. No cases were unknown for 1978, 1983, 1985, 1988, 

1992–95, and 1998. 

36 

1
Table 12. Traffic crash fatalities among young drivers and young drinking drivers ages 16 to 24, 

United States, 1977–99. 

Fatalities 

All drivers 1 Drinking drivers 1 

Number ber Year 

All ages Young 

(ages 16–24) 

Percent who are 

young All ages Young 

(ages 16–24) 

Percent who are 

young 

1999................... 25,091 24.0 7,901 27.0 

1998................... 24,544 23.6 7,771 26.5 

1997................... 24,470 23.4 7,847 25.5 

1996................... 24,227 24.3 8,238 26.3 

1995................... 24,167 24.9 8,603 26.1 

1994................... 23,450 26.1 8,423 28.2 

1993................... 22,941 26.2 8,728 28.4 

1992................... 22,402 26.2 8,904 28.4 

1991................... 23,744 27.8 9,973 31.4 

1990................... 25,532 28.3 11,153 30.5 

1989................... 26,137 29.0 11,316 31.8 

1988................... 27,003 31.1 11,834 34.9 

1987................... 26,535 31.5 11,981 34.6 

1986................... 26,332 33.1 11,975 37.9 

1985................... 25,013 33.3 10,855 37.5 

1984................... 25,273 34.2 11,103 39.3 

1983................... 23,868 33.6 10,359 38.6 

1982................... 24,410 35.0 10,689 40.0 

1981................... 27,755 35.2 12,065 39.2 

1980................... 28,456 10,571 12,109 5,051 

1979................... 28,482 10,864 11,467 4,845 

1978................... 27,896 10,820 10,188 4,269 

1977................... 25,782 10,091 9,662 4,191 

Num

6,029 2,136 

5,786 2,062 

5,731 2,003 

5,876 2,164 

6,023 2,249 

6,125 2,373 

5,998 2,479 

5,862 2,531 

6,606 3,128 

7,220 3,402 

7,566 3,593 

8,410 4,128 

8,363 4,140 

8,712 4,536 

8,321 4,072 

8,632 4,359 

8,017 3,998 

8,535 4,280 

9,778 4,729 

37.2 41.7 

38.1 42.3 

38.8 41.9 

39.1 43.4 

1

 Ages under 16 and unknown are excluded. 

37 
Table 13. Alcohol involvement among young drivers ages 16–20 in fatal traffic crashes, United States, 1977–99. 

Drivers 1 

Ages 16–20 Ages 21 and older 

Number ber Year 

Total Alcoholinvolved 

Percent alcoholinvolved 

Total Alcoholinvolved 

Percent alcoholinvolved 

1999................... 7,985 554 19.5 47,374 787 20.7 

1998................... 7,767 569 20.2 47,637 891 20.8 

1997................... 7,719 1,555 2 47,693 10,052 1 

1996................... 7,804 1,581 3 47,617 10,690 4 

1995................... 7,725 1,504 5 47,122 11,037 4 

1994................... 7,723 1,652 4 45,515 10,810 8 

1993................... 7,256 1,728 8 44,824 11,337 3 

1992................... 7,192 1,856 8 43,490 11,609 7 

1991................... 8,002 2,274 4 45,005 12,687 2 

1990................... 8,821 2,672 3 48,572 14,191 2 

1989................... 9,442 2,694 5 49,428 14,202 7 

1988................... 10,171 3,100 5 50,487 14,746 2 

1987................... 9,910 3,130 6 49,919 15,335 7 

1986................... 10,163 3,488 3 48,525 14,933 8 

1985................... 9,386 2,910 0 46,936 13,723 2 

1984................... 9,804 3,365 3 46,218 13,833 9 

1983................... 9,334 3,283 2 43,850 13,164 0 

1982................... 9,858 3,603 5 44,604 13,571 4 

1981................... 11,635 4,074 0 49,603 15,145 5 

1980................... 12,766 4,464 0 49,511 14,861 0 

1979................... 13,501 4,510 4 50,017 13,982 0 

1978................... 13,761 4,048 4 49,126 12,603 7 

1977................... 13,142 3,912 8 46,182 11,989 0 

Num

1, 9,

1, 9,

20. 21.

20. 22.

19. 23.

21. 23.

23. 25.

25. 26.

28. 28.

30. 29.

28. 28.

30. 29.

31. 30.

34. 30.

31. 29.

34. 29.

35. 30.

36. 30.

35. 30.

35. 30.

33. 28.

29. 25.

29. 26.

Ages under 16 and unknown are excluded. 

38 


1