FACT SHEET

IMPAIRED DRIVING

According to preliminary 1999 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately 6.3 million reported crashes occurred on America's roadways. An estimated 41,345 people were killed in these crashes, a 0.3 percent decrease from 1998. Of these deaths, an estimated 15,794 were alcohol-related, a 0.9 percent decrease from 1998.

Thirty-one states have laws that set 0.10 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC) as the per se limit, making it illegal to drive with a BAC at or above that level. An illegal per se law makes it illegal in and of itself to drive with a BAC at or above the established limit. Under a per se law, a Breathalyzer test alone is sufficient evidence to go forward with a drunk driving charge. Only one state, Massachusetts, does not have a per se law.

The probability of having a crash rises dramatically when a driver reaches and exceeds 0.08 percent BAC. Through the persistent efforts of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, MADD, and other safety organizations, 18 states and the District of Columbia set their BAC limit at 0.08 percent. A number of additional states are considering lowering their BAC limit to 0.08 percent per se.

IMPAIRED DRIVING FACTS

• Alcohol was a factor in approximately 38 percent of all fatal traffic crashes in 1999. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, 1999)
• In 1998, more than 305,000 people were injured in crashes in which police reported the presence of alcohol. (NHTSA, 1999)
• Approximately three out of every ten adults will be involved in an alcohol-related traffic crash at some time in their lives. (NHTSA, 1999)
• Between 1985 and 1996, more than 5,500 children were killed in alcohol-related crashes. Approximately 64% of those children were passengers in vehicles driven by impaired drivers. (Journal of American Medical Association, 2000)
• Alcohol-related crashes cost society more than $45 billion a year. Just one alcohol-related fatality is estimated to cost approximately $950,000. (NHTSA, 1997)

 0.08 BAC LEVEL FACTS

• 0.08 percent BAC is a level at which all drivers, even experienced ones, are impaired with respect to critical driving skills. (NHTSA, 1997)
• The relative risk of being killed in a single-vehicle crash is 11 times greater at BACs between 0.05 and 0.09 percent than at a BAC of 0.0 percent (no alcohol). (Zador, 1991)
• The average 170-pound male would need to consume more than four drinks in an hour on an empty stomach to reach a BAC of 0.08 percent. An average 137-pound female would need three drinks in one hour on an empty stomach to reach that level. (NHTSA, 1997)
• Most other industrialized countries set their legal BAC level at .08 percent or lower. The BAC level is .08 in Canada, Austria, Great Britain and Switzerland; .05 in Australia, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands; and .02 in Sweden. (NHTSA, 1997)
• In 1996, five states that reduced their BAC levels to 0.08 percent experienced a 16 percent reduction in alcohol-related fatal crashes in which the fatally injured driver had a 0.08 BAC or higher and an 18 percent reduction for drivers with very high BAC levels of 0.15 percent or more. (Hingson et al., 1996)
• An estimated 500-600 lives would be saved every year if all states adopted 0.08 percent BAC laws. (Hingson et al., 1996)
• A 1995 study analyzing driver involvement in alcohol-related fatal crashes for five states with 0.08 percent BAC limits showed significant decreases in such crashes after implementation of the law in four out of the five states compared with states at 0.10 percent BAC laws. (Johnson and Fell, NHTSA, 1995)
• California experienced a 12 percent reduction in alcohol-related fatalities after it lowered its legal BAC limit to 0.08 percent. Some of this reduction is credited to the administrative license revocation law implemented at the same time. The state also saw an increase in arrests for driving under the influence. (NHTSA, 1997)

August, 2000