During the past year, an estimated 2,000 people died and 74,000 suffered serious injuries in alcohol-related crashes in the United States. There are also more than one million drivers arrested each year for driving under the influence. These accidents drain $44 billion from the economy each year. Several programs have been implemented to help reduce these deaths. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tracks these crashes. The agency reported 10,511 drunk driving deaths in 2018.
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The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that in 2007, more than 56,000 people died in car crashes, many of them involving alcohol. The majority of these accidents were caused by drivers with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 percent or higher. A BAC is the amount of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream, usually expressed in grams. It can be difficult to determine exactly how much alcohol is in a person’s system, however. A test can be performed using urine or breath samples.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been tracking alcohol-related accidents since 1982. The agency’s data includes data from all 50 states. The agency reports that in 2019, there were 1.1 fatalities per every 100,000 Americans under the age of 21. That rate is down 83% from 1982.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has conducted several studies on alcohol-related crashes. It has been found that the risk of dying in a drunk driving crash is about one-third of all motor vehicle accidents. This statistic varies by state. In 2013, there were 1,233 motor vehicle accidents involving a driver who was impaired. In the same year, 120,000 emergency rooms were treating young people who were injured due to alcohol. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that a total of 31,000 lives have been saved by minimum drinking age laws.
Several factors can affect the rate of alcohol-related traffic crashes. Some of these include the weather, location, and time of day. The most common time for drunk driving accidents is at night. Even though alcohol-related traffic accidents are the most deadly, they have been steadily decreasing over the past decade. This trend has been driven in part by multiple programs, including increased visibility, increased enforcement, and reduced demand for alcohol.
The most dangerous day to drive is the Fourth of July. The average number of fatalities involving drunk drivers is around 29. This figure is highest on New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July. A third of all drinking drivers are repeat offenders. These individuals are four times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than drivers who have never been convicted of driving under the influence.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tracked alcohol-related accidents for four years before reporting the most recent statistics. The agency reported 10,497 drunk driving crash deaths in 2007. The percentage of alcohol-related fatal crashes is the lowest in Mississippi, where 19% of drivers were arrested for drunk driving.
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