How Many People Die From Drunk Driving Each Day?
Fortunately, the number of drunk driving fatalities in the United States has been on a downward trend for the last three decades. The rate of drunk driving fatalities per 100,000 people was nearly 50% lower in 2017 than it was in 1991. This means that more than one million more drunk drivers are now behind the wheel than are dead.
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In addition to the many deaths and injuries that occur each year, alcohol impairs brain function and reasoning. These impairments make driving safely difficult. One out of every two people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that more than 10,000 people were killed in drunk driving car crashes during the past five years. It’s also estimated that one person is killed in a drunk driving crash every 50 minutes in the U.S. In 2010, alcohol-related car crashes caused $44 billion in economic damage.
Drunk driving fatalities accounted for more than 15,000 of the more than 97,000 total motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the U.S. in 2013. The total number of people killed in alcohol-impaired driving accidents is slightly less than the number of deaths attributed to illegal drugs. However, it’s still a huge number. In the last five years, alcohol-impaired driving crashes have caused over 28,000 deaths among people aged 55 and older.
Regardless of the age group, the majority of drivers who got into drunk driving accidents were male. The biggest percentage of drinking drivers were motorcycle riders. A BAC of 0.08 grams per deciliter is the legal limit in most states. Those with higher BACs are more likely to be in a fatal crash.
While there are numerous ways to calculate the number of deaths that are related to alcohol-impaired driving, the NHTSA estimates that the highest alcohol-related fatality rate was 3.1 per 100,000 residents in the United States. This is a small percentage of the total population, but it’s a large number when compared to the rest of the world. The United Kingdom and Australia have the worst fatality rates of any nation, according to the CDC.
Approximately ten million Americans reported driving under the influence of illegal drugs in 2014. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that approximately 3,115 teenagers between the ages of 13-19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2010. Similarly, more than 2,000 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related injuries.
Although the number of deaths attributed to drinking and driving has been declining for the past three decades, it’s still a huge number. During May, the number of traffic fatalities rose by 4% compared to last year. This is because more fatal crashes occurred during May than at any other time during the year. In addition, the number of alcohol-impaired drivers on the road in June was also higher than it was in August.