Hard Facts

Hard Facts: Driving Crash and Fatality Statistics — Nationwide

DUI stands for “driving under the influence” of alcohol or prescription, nonprescription, or illegal drugs and is the main cause of deaths and injuries on our roads. In California alone, almost half of the number of people who were killed on 9/11 in the Twin Towers are killed every year because of DUI crashes, and that number doesn't include other types of crashes. In 2005, 1,387 people died while 20,581 were injured in a DUI related car crash in California.

Across the nation, 17,602 people died (39% percent of all crashes) and 159 people were injured in a DUI related car crash in 2006. However, 159 million people have reported to have had episodes of being under the influence while driving.

Here are some quick and scary facts:

Alcohol is involved in about 40% of all fatal car crashes.
Drivers with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of only 0.02 to 0.05 % are 7 times more likely to die in a crash than sober drivers.
Drivers with a BAC of 0.20% are 90 times more likely to die in a crash than sober drivers.
Alcohol-related crashes in the U.S. cost about $51 billion each year.
Male drivers are twice as likely as female drivers to be involved in a DUI crash with a BAC of 0.08% or greater.
Usually 30% of all fatal crashes on a weekday had alcohol involved, compared to 52% on weekends.