The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has conducted a study to find out just how common drunk driving in America is, and also to paint a picture of the typical drunk driver. The results of the study were simply staggering, with over 4 million drivers admitting to driving while under the influence of alcohol at least once over the course of the previous 30 days.
The study analyzes data from a federal survey from 2012, with researchers finding that drunk driving is a much more common offense than the general public thinks. The study found that 1.8% of adult drivers admit to driving drunk at least on one occasion during the prior month, which equals to about 4.2 million people. There are roughly 121 million drunk driving violations per year, which suggests that driving under the influence is still a very common occurrence on U.S. roadways.
It’s important to note that these statistics are based on drivers admitting to getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol, meaning that DUI is even more common than what the survey shows, given that it’s highly likely that some drivers didn’t want to admit to it, and that drivers younger than 18 weren’t even included in the survey.
Furthermore, the study finds that 4 percent of adult drivers are “binge drinkers”, which refers to males having at least 5 drinks and females having 4 or more drinks on one occasion, and that they account for 61% of all drunk-driving cases.
In addition to the frequency of alcohol-impaired driving cases, researchers wanted to determine the age and sex of the typical drunk driver. They found that the worst offenders are males between the ages of 21 and 34, accounting for 32% of the reported drunk driving cases. What’s more, the study finds that as much as 80% of alcohol-related driving violations are committed by males in general. This comes as no surprise, given that young males are known to be especially susceptible to drunk driving.
In its report, the CDC notes that almost one-third of all car crash fatalities occurring over the past two decades in the United States have involved a drunk driver. This suggests that reducing driving under the influence can help improve traffic safety drastically and save many lives. Researchers recommend several solutions that could help curb this serious traffic safety issue, including expansion of publicized sobriety checkpoints, requiring ignition interlocks for all DUI offenders, increasing alcohol taxes, and stricter enforcement of BAC laws that make it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher.