How Often Does Someone Die From Drunk Driving?
If you’ve ever wondered how often someone dies from drunk driving, you’re not alone. Nearly one in seven road deaths among children aged 0-14 involved drunk drivers. And, every two minutes, someone is injured in a drunk driving crash. The statistics are startling.
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Statistics
Alcohol-impaired driving is a serious problem that takes the lives of thousands of Americans every year. While some say that the current level of public awareness is insufficient to reduce fatalities, minimum drinking age laws have saved more than 31,000 lives since 1984. Drunk driving deaths are still among the top causes of fatal crashes for drivers and passengers of all ages. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 500-2,000 drunk driving incidents go unpunished each year. In 2015, more than half of fatal DUI accidents involved an underage driver.
The CDC reports that more than 15,000 people die every year as a result of drunk driving. This translates to one death every 50 minutes. Drunk driving statistics vary by age, gender, and location, but there are some general trends that you can expect. Drunk driving deaths are more likely to occur in young people, men, and drivers with prior DUI convictions.
The age group most likely to drink and drive
The age group most likely to drink and drive is the millennials, a group composed of the majority of the population aged sixteen to twenty-four years. These young adults often think they are invincible and are willing to take risks that older drivers would not. According to 2017 statistics, the risk of being involved in a drunk driving accident is higher for young adults.
According to the Ministry of Justice, men made up almost four-fifths of the population arrested for drunk driving. While male college students are more likely to engage in risky behavior, females are just as likely as males to drive under the influence. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the age group most likely to drive after drinking is twenty-four-year-old men. Binge-drinking males make up almost a third of the drunk-driving cases reported.
The risk of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs rises as a person ages. The percentage of men driving under the influence of alcohol rose as they approached their late twenties, while the number of people driving while under the influence of illicit drugs rose as people aged twenty-three.
Number of fatalities caused by alcohol-impaired driving
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of fatalities resulting from alcohol-impaired driving is increasing at a rapid pace. In 2016, nearly 33,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes, and 5.26% of these were alcohol-impaired drivers. The percentages varied from state to state. In Montana, the rate was 45%, while in Utah, it was 19%. In 2017, almost 2,000 people were killed in alcohol-impaired traffic crashes.
The number of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities is measured by FARS, which gathers data from crashes involving motor vehicles and drivers who test positive for alcohol. This data measures the impact of alcohol on traffic safety and allows policymakers to compare the effect of different policies on the number of drunk-driving crashes.
Alcohol-impaired drivers tend to drive at higher speeds and are more likely to be involved in excessive-speed crashes. This is because alcohol impairs the driver’s sensory-motor functions and increases reaction time. Therefore, enforcement efforts are essential in reducing the fatalities from alcohol-impaired driving.