The Facts about DUI

The National Perspective:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that alcohol was involved in 41 percent of fatal crashes and in seven percent of all crashes in 2001.

The 17,748 fatalities in alcohol-related crashes during 2001 represent an average of one alcohol-related fatality every 30 minutes.

An estimated 275,000 persons were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present – an average of one person injured approximately every two minutes.

The rate of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes is more than three times as high at night as during the day (63 percent vs. 19 percent). For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate is five times as high at night (15 percent vs. three percent).

In 2001, 32 percent of all fatal crashes during the week were alcohol-related, compared to 54 percent on weekends. For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate was five percent during the week and 12 percent during the weekend.

The highest intoxication rate in fatal crashes were recorded for drivers 21-24 years old (33 percent), followed by ages 25-34 (28 percent) and 35-44 (25 percent).

All states and the District of Columbia now have 21-year-old minimum drinking age laws. NHTSA estimates that these laws have reduced traffic fatalities involving drivers 18 to 20 years old by 13 percent and have saved an estimated 20,970 lives since 1975. In 2001 an estimated 927 lives were saved by minimum drinking age laws.

Nearly 1.5 million people are arrested each year for DUI. Two-thirds of those arrested are first-time offenders.

About three in every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives.

The South Carolina Perspective:
In 2001, 158 people were killed in 147 collisions where the probable cause was DUI. In 2000, 170 died in 155 DUI collisions. Nearly 800 people have died in DUI collisions in the last five years.

Nearly 60 percent of all DUI collisions involve only one vehicle.

The rate of alcohol involvement in collisions is more than three times as high at night as during the day (76 percent vs. 24 percent).

Males account for between 85 and 90 percent of the at-fault drivers in DUI collisions.

In 2001, 70 percent of fatal DUI collisions and 61 percent of non-fatal DUI collisions occurred on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.