Drunk Driving Statistics & DUI Statistics: The Complete US Report

Alcohol-impaired driving kills roughly one American every 39 minutes. This report compiles the latest US drunk driving statistics and DUI statistics from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the CDC, and MADD — covering annual deaths, arrests, demographics, state rankings, and the BAC levels behind fatal crashes.

How many people die from drunk driving each year?

NHTSA's drunk driving statistics count 13,524 alcohol-impaired driving deaths in 2022 — defined as crashes where at least one driver had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher. That works out to 37 deaths per day, or one drunk driving fatality every 39 minutes.

Alcohol-impaired driving accounts for about 32% of all US traffic fatalities — a share that has stayed stubbornly flat since the early 2010s despite ride-share growth, stricter laws, and ignition interlocks.

What percentage of car accidents involve alcohol?

Alcohol is involved in roughly 32% of all fatal crashes and around 5% of all police-reported crashes. At night that share jumps dramatically: about 55% of fatal crashes between midnight and 3am involve an alcohol-impaired driver, making late-night driving statistically the most dangerous time to be on US roads.

What age group has the most drunk driving deaths?

Drivers aged 21–24 have the highest rate of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes — 27% of drivers in this bracket killed in a crash were legally drunk. Drivers 25–34 follow close behind at 25%. Teen drinking-and-driving rates have dropped substantially over the past 20 years but remain a major factor in teen driving deaths.

Do men or women drive drunk more often?

Drunk driving statistics are sharply lopsided by gender: men account for about 80% of alcohol-impaired driving deaths and roughly 4x the DUI arrest rate of women. Male drivers in fatal crashes are twice as likely to have a BAC above 0.08 as female drivers.

How many DUI arrests happen each year in the US?

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs roughly 1 million DUI arrests per year — about 2,700 arrests every day. Only a small fraction of impaired drivers are ever caught: MADD estimates the average drunk driver has driven impaired 80 times before their first arrest.

What state has the most DUIs?

Per-capita DUI statistics put Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana at the top — all above 500 DUI arrests per 100,000 residents per year. In absolute terms, California and Texas lead by raw count because of population. The states with the lowest rates are New Jersey, Illinois, and Delaware.

What is the average BAC in fatal drunk driving crashes?

The average BAC of drunk drivers in fatal crashes is 0.19 — more than twice the 0.08 legal limit in every state except Utah (0.05). Roughly 70% of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes have a BAC of 0.15 or higher, putting them in the "extreme DUI" category that carries enhanced penalties in most states.

Has ride-share reduced drunk driving?

Multiple peer-reviewed studies (Temple University, University of Chicago) show that the arrival of Uber and Lyft in a city correlates with a 6–10% drop in alcohol-related traffic deaths and a similar drop in DUI arrests — though effects vary by city size and transit density. The effect is strongest in medium-sized cities without strong late-night transit.

How much does drunk driving cost the US each year?

NHTSA estimates total economic costs of alcohol-impaired driving at about $68 billion per year — covering medical costs, lost productivity, legal fees, and property damage. Factoring in "quality of life" losses pushes the figure above $200 billion annually.