Impaired Driving: Data & Statistics
Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 48 minutes.1 The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $51 billion.2
Thankfully, there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving.
Effects of BAC
Impaired Driving Statistics
- In 2009, 10,839 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.1
- Of the 1,314 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2009, 181 (14%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.1
- Of the 181 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2009, about half (92) were riding in the vehicle with the with the alcohol-impaired driver.1
Nearly one-third of crash deaths involve an alcohol impaired driver3
CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWRs)
Announcements: World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims --- November 21, 2010 (Published November 19, 2010)
Drivers Aged 16 or 17 Years Involved in Fatal Crashes --- United States, 2004--2008 (Published October 22, 2010)
Alcohol Use Among High School Students --- Georgia, 2007 (Published August 21, 2009)
Motor Vehicle--Related Death Rates --- United States, 1999--2005 (Published February 27, 2009)
Child Passenger Deaths Involving Drinking Drivers --- United States, 1997--2002 (Published February 6, 2004)
Additional Data Sources
Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS)
www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars
WISQARSTM (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System) is an interactive database system that provides customized reports of injury-related data.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
www.cdc.gov/brfss/
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the world’s largest, on-going telephone health survey system, tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States yearly since 1984. Currently, data are collected monthly in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.
CDC WONDER (Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research )
http://wonder.cdc.gov
WONDER an easy-to-use, menu-driven system that makes the information resources of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) available to public health professionals and the public at large. It provides access to a wide array of public health information.
CDC Data & Statistics
www.cdc.gov/DataStatistics
The CDC Data & Statistics web site features interactive tools, surveys, publications, databases, and more.
References
- Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Traffic Safety Facts 2009: Alcohol-Impaired Driving. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2010 [cited 2011 Jan 25]. Available at URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811385.PDF
- Blincoe L, Seay A, Zaloshnja E, Miller T, Romano E, Luchter S, et al. The Economic Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2000. Washington (DC): Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); 2002.
- Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Traffic Safety Facts 2009: Highlights of 2009 Motor Vehicle Crashes. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2010. Available at URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811363.pdf
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