Fatality Facts 2005

Alcohol

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Overview | Age and gender | When alcohol-impaired crashes occurred

Progress has been made during the past 20 years to reduce the proportion of fatally injured drivers with blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or above 0.08 percent. Proportions are lower in all age groups and among drivers of passenger vehicles, tractor-trailers, and motorcycles. There also has been a substantial decline among those with very high BACs (at or above 0.15 percent), who often are assumed to be "hard-core" drinking drivers. However, progress has stalled in recent years and alcohol-impaired driving is still a major problem.

All states now have enacted a law defining impairment as driving with a BAC at or above 0.08 percent. All states also have "zero tolerance" laws that prohibit people younger than 21 from driving after drinking. Typically, these laws prohibit driving with a BAC of 0.02 percent or greater. A BAC as low as 0.02 percent has been shown to affect driving ability. The probability of a fatal crash rises significantly after 0.05 percent BAC and even more rapidly after about 0.08 percent. Among drivers age 35 and older with BACs at or above 0.15 percent on weekend nights, the likelihood of dying in a single-vehicle crash is 382 times higher than it is for nondrinking drivers.¹

The information in this fact sheet is based on data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia with imputations for missing BACs provided by the US Department of Transportation's multiple imputation model.²

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the US Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Overview

The percentage of fatally injured motor vehicle drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent declined steadily from the 1980s to the mid-1990s. Since then little progress has been made. The proportion of fatally injured pedestrians with BACs at or above 0.08 percent hasn't declined as much. Since 1997 about a third of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers have had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. The group of drivers with the lowest proportion was tractor-trailer drivers (2 percent).

Percent of fatally injured people with BACs≥ 0.08 percent by type, 1982-2005

 

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured people with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent, 1982-2005
Year	All drivers			Passenger vehicle drivers			Tractor-trailer drivers			Motorcycle drivers			Pedestrians (age ≥ 16)
	Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
1982	24,690	12,139	49	19,663	10,023	51	600	97	16	3,723	1,810	49	5,993	2,668	45
1983	24,138	11,543	48	19,337	9,529	49	615	83	13	3,592	1,783	50	5,582	2,486	45
1984	25,589	11,499	45	20,298	9,378	46	720	90	13	3,896	1,834	47	5,755	2,439	42
1985	25,337	10,685	42	20,057	8,674	43	632	69	11	3,896	1,756	45	5,539	2,263	41
1986	26,630	11,409	43	21,503	9,396	44	589	45	8	3,790	1,772	47	5,547	2,242	40
1987	26,833	11,058	41	22,157	9,343	42	559	40	7	3,409	1,499	44	5,597	2,176	39
1988	27,253	11,103	41	22,884	9,580	42	614	52	8	3,139	1,338	43	5,701	2,162	38
1989	26,389	10,637	40	22,554	9,200	41	546	54	10	2,682	1,233	46	5,557	2,186	39
1990	25,750	10,395	40	21,953	8,973	41	436	39	9	2,790	1,235	44	5,488	2,137	39
1991	23,930	9,485	40	20,551	8,242	40	407	28	7	2,404	1,059	44	4,880	1,895	39
1992	22,584	8,452	37	19,573	7,434	38	369	18	5	2,079	873	42	4,734	1,861	39
1993	23,142	8,322	36	20,036	7,328	37	383	17	4	2,120	825	39	4,740	1,856	39
1994	23,691	7,913	33	20,644	7,083	34	388	23	6	1,995	663	33	4,637	1,718	37
1995	24,390	8,307	34	21,456	7,488	35	400	21	5	1,939	664	34	4,783	1,793	37
1996	24,534	8,175	33	21,631	7,336	34	384	20	5	1,881	683	36	4,670	1,804	39
1997	24,667	7,843	32	21,702	7,062	33	427	13	3	1,878	622	33	4,621	1,638	35
1998	24,743	7,834	32	21,627	6,944	32	441	20	4	2,026	716	35	4,597	1,678	37
1999	25,257	7,918	31	21,899	6,994	32	471	14	3	2,223	736	33	4,325	1,646	38
2000	25,567	8,166	32	21,819	7,127	33	457	14	3	2,591	847	33	4,192	1,534	37
2001	25,869	8,252	32	21,862	7,205	33	414	12	3	2,886	853	30	4,368	1,558	36
2002	26,659	8,515	32	22,537	7,381	33	409	25	6	2,952	940	32	4,367	1,584	36
2003	26,779	8,354	31	22,200	7,120	32	435	17	4	3,358	1,010	30	4,298	1,560	36
2004	26,871	8,155	30	21,952	6,952	32	440	14	3	3,593	995	28	4,237	1,528	36
2005	27,472	8,515	31	21,880	7,117	33	481	11	2	4,122	1,124	27	4,431	1,524	34

The percentage of fatally injured drivers with BACs at or above 0.15 percent has declined 37 percent since 1982 but with little change since 1997. The proportion of driver deaths involving BACs at or above 0.15 percent in 2005 was 24 percent for passenger vehicles and 16 percent for motorcycles. A higher percentage of pedestrians (27 percent) had BACs at or above 0.15 percent than any group of drivers.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured people with BACs ≥ 0.15 percent, 1982-2005
Year	All drivers			Passenger vehicle drivers			Tractor-trailer drivers			Motorcycle drivers			Pedestrians (age ≥ 16)
	Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.15		Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.15		Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.15		Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.15		Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.15
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
1982	24,690	8,660	35	19,663	7,328	37	600	59	10	3,723	1,136	30	5,993	2,077	35
1983	24,138	8,240	34	19,337	6,969	36	615	57	9	3,592	1,115	31	5,582	1,945	35
1984	25,589	8,203	32	20,298	6,864	34	720	59	8	3,896	1,136	29	5,755	1,886	33
1985	25,337	7,521	30	20,057	6,269	31	632	44	7	3,896	1,085	28	5,539	1,732	31
1986	26,630	8,077	30	21,503	6,783	32	589	26	4	3,790	1,144	30	5,547	1,730	31
1987	26,833	7,968	30	22,157	6,854	31	559	23	4	3,409	966	28	5,597	1,735	31
1988	27,253	8,114	30	22,884	7,126	31	614	32	5	3,139	862	27	5,701	1,688	30
1989	26,389	7,774	29	22,554	6,847	30	546	39	7	2,682	791	29	5,557	1,706	31
1990	25,750	7,631	30	21,953	6,670	30	436	24	6	2,790	824	30	5,488	1,697	31
1991	23,930	7,014	29	20,551	6,192	30	407	20	5	2,404	697	29	4,880	1,512	31
1992	22,584	6,258	28	19,573	5,569	28	369	12	3	2,079	590	28	4,734	1,474	31
1993	23,142	6,104	26	20,036	5,494	27	383	10	2	2,120	505	24	4,740	1,499	32
1994	23,691	5,849	25	20,644	5,326	26	388	17	4	1,995	411	21	4,637	1,355	29
1995	24,390	6,018	25	21,456	5,495	26	400	11	3	1,939	415	21	4,783	1,394	29
1996	24,534	5,925	24	21,631	5,383	25	384	14	4	1,881	440	23	4,670	1,433	31
1997	24,667	5,668	23	21,702	5,158	24	427	11	2	1,878	400	21	4,621	1,329	29
1998	24,743	5,692	23	21,627	5,127	24	441	15	3	2,026	449	22	4,597	1,332	29
1999	25,257	5,678	22	21,899	5,108	23	471	10	2	2,223	440	20	4,325	1,292	30
2000	25,567	5,801	23	21,819	5,138	24	457	4	1	2,591	539	21	4,192	1,204	29
2001	25,869	5,976	23	21,862	5,328	24	414	10	2	2,886	522	18	4,368	1,232	28
2002	26,659	6,146	23	22,537	5,463	24	409	15	4	2,952	564	19	4,367	1,267	29
2003	26,779	6,010	22	22,200	5,258	24	435	11	3	3,358	609	18	4,298	1,254	29
2004	26,871	5,837	22	21,952	5,089	23	440	9	2	3,593	614	17	4,237	1,195	28
2005	27,472	6,092	22	21,880	5,231	24	481	7	1	4,122	670	16	4,431	1,203	27

Age and gender

Among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers in 2005, a higher proportion of males than females had BACs at or above 0.08 percent at every age. Overall 38 percent of males and 19 percent of females had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. The percentage was highest among males ages 21-40.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by driver age and gender, 2005
Age	Male			Female			Total*
	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
0-15	51	12	24	25	5	18	76	17	22
16-20	2,125	618	29	853	125	15	2,978	743	25
21-30	3,830	2,141	56	1,210	362	30	5,040	2,502	50
31-40	2,395	1,217	51	955	293	31	3,350	1,510	45
41-50	2,353	1,026	44	1,009	273	27	3,362	1,298	39
51-60	1,774	531	30	816	102	12	2,590	633	24
61-70	1,183	216	18	610	40	7	1,793	257	14
>70	1,789	115	6	881	28	3	2,671	143	5
Total*	15,517	5,887	38	6,360	1,228	19	21,880	7,117	33
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers in 2005, 28 percent of males and 14 percent of females had BACs at or above 0.15 percent.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.15 percent by driver age and gender, 2005
Age	Male			Female			Total*
	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.15		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.15		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.15
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
0-15	51	6	13	25	1	6	76	8	10
16-20	2,125	382	18	853	77	9	2,978	459	15
21-30	3,830	1,553	41	1,210	250	21	5,040	1,803	36
31-40	2,395	968	40	955	217	23	3,350	1,185	35
41-50	2,353	798	34	1,009	210	21	3,362	1,008	30
51-60	1,774	409	23	816	74	9	2,590	483	19
61-70	1,183	165	14	610	28	5	1,793	193	11
>70	1,789	66	4	881	16	2	2,671	82	3
Total*	15,517	4,356	28	6,360	874	14	21,880	5,231	24
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Since the 1980s the proportion of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent declined more among 16-20 year-olds than among older drivers, but these declines ended in 1995.

Percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by driver age, 1982-2005

 

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by driver age, 1982-2005
Year	16-20			21-30			>30
	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
1982	3,456	1,826	53	6,243	3,948	63	9,861	4,208	43
1983	3,326	1,681	51	6,053	3,859	64	9,844	3,943	40
1984	3,441	1,595	46	6,411	3,885	61	10,337	3,860	37
1985	3,227	1,260	39	6,262	3,659	58	10,441	3,713	36
1986	3,636	1,495	41	6,695	3,974	59	11,042	3,887	35
1987	3,630	1,315	36	6,802	3,975	58	11,579	4,016	35
1988	3,788	1,358	36	6,819	3,991	59	12,145	4,203	35
1989	3,536	1,225	35	6,475	3,675	57	12,401	4,272	34
1990	3,397	1,198	35	6,152	3,510	57	12,274	4,238	35
1991	3,021	1,044	35	5,623	3,183	57	11,801	3,993	34
1992	2,697	829	31	5,122	2,759	54	11,639	3,823	33
1993	2,805	795	28	5,065	2,658	52	12,038	3,851	32
1994	2,990	800	27	4,975	2,484	50	12,522	3,771	30
1995	2,983	725	24	5,081	2,585	51	13,246	4,155	31
1996	3,026	769	25	4,989	2,475	50	13,478	4,070	30
1997	3,034	773	25	4,772	2,272	48	13,773	4,001	29
1998	3,094	767	25	4,577	2,222	49	13,839	3,930	28
1999	3,261	849	26	4,653	2,260	49	13,870	3,866	28
2000	3,250	844	26	4,706	2,268	48	13,743	3,997	29
2001	3,247	823	25	4,735	2,358	50	13,790	4,005	29
2002	3,452	873	25	4,938	2,462	50	14,006	4,020	29
2003	3,260	858	26	4,852	2,308	48	13,957	3,930	28
2004	3,175	815	26	4,970	2,372	48	13,689	3,743	27
2005	2,978	743	25	5,040	2,502	50	13,766	3,842	28

When alcohol-impaired crashes occurred

Alcohol involvement in fatal crashes peaks at night. Between 9pm and 6am, 58 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers in 2005 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent, compared with 19 percent during other hours.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with high BACs at night vs. other times, 2005
Time of day	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.15
	Num	Num	%	Num	%
9pm-6am	7,716	4,493	58	3,342	43
Other hours	14,164	2,624	19	1,889	13
Total	21,880	7,117	33	5,231	24

 

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with high BACs by time of day, 2005
Time of day	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.15
	Num	Num	%	Num	%
Midnight-3am	2,945	2,001	68	1,500	51
3am-6am	1,934	1,003	52	705	36
6am-9am	2,470	310	13	203	8
9am-noon	2,277	194	9	128	6
Noon-3pm	2,929	321	11	237	8
3pm-6pm	3,452	646	19	457	13
6pm-9pm	2,829	1,029	36	771	27
9pm-midnight	2,837	1,490	53	1,138	40
Total*	21,880	7,117	33	5,231	24
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty-five percent of passenger vehicle drivers fatally injured on weekends (6pm Friday to 6am Monday) in 2005 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent, compared with 24 percent at other times.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with high BACs by weekend vs. other times, 2005
	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.15
	Num	Num	%	Num	%
Weekend	8,768	3,935	45	2,908	33
Other times	13,112	3,181	24	2,323	18
Total	21,880	7,117	33	5,231	24

Alcohol involvement is highest in nighttime (9pm to 6am) single-vehicle crashes, in which 66 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers in 2005 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. Only 28 percent of the fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers involved in nighttime single-vehicle crashes had no alcohol in their blood. Changes in nighttime single-vehicle crashes often are used to measure the changing role of alcohol in highway crashes and crash deaths.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers by BAC, time, and crash type, 2005
		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs = 0		Estimated drivers killed with 0.01≤ BACs ≤ 0.07		Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.15
		Num	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Single vehicle	Night	5,178	1,457	28	284	5	3,437	66	2,567	50
	Day	5,499	3,619	66	234	4	1,646	30	1,213	22
Multiple vehicle	Night	2,531	1,344	53	135	5	1,052	42	771	30
	Day	8,455	7,329	87	274	3	852	10	582	7

References

¹Zador, P.L.; Krawchuck, S.; and Voas, R.B. 2000. Alcohol-related relative risk of driver fatalities and driver involvement in fatal crashes in relation to driver age and gender. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 61:387-96.

²Subramanian, R. 2002. Transitioning to multiple imputation — a new method to impute missing blood alcohol concentration (BAC) values in FARS. Report no. DOT HS-809-403. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation.