Fatality Facts 2008

Alcohol

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

The probability of a fatal crash rises significantly after 0.05 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and even more rapidly after 0.08 percent.¹ Drivers with very high BACs (at or above 0.15 percent) have a very high risk of dying in a crash or getting severely injured. ^1,2 All states have enacted a law defining impairment as driving with a BAC at or above 0.08 percent.

Progress has been made during the past 25 years to reduce the numbers and proportion of fatally injured drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent. Since 1982, there has been a 37 percent decline in the number of passenger vehicle drivers killed in crashes who had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. 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, little progress has been made since the mid-1990s and alcohol-impaired driving is still a major problem. In 2005, Institute research estimated that 8,916 deaths would have been prevented if all drivers on the road had BACs below 0.08 percent.³ Applying the same methods yields an estimate of 8,104 preventable deaths if BACs were below 0.08 percent in 2008.

Drivers younger than 21 are more vulnerable than older drivers to the impairing effects of alcohol. At the same BAC, young drivers are far more likely to get into a fatal or nonfatal crash.^1,2 The minimum drinking age is 21 throughout the United States. In addition, all states 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. In recent years, drivers younger than 21 killed in crashes are about half as likely as fatally injured drivers ages 21-30 to have a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher.

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 U.S. Department of Transportation's multiple imputation model.⁴

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

Overview

The percentage of fatally injured drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent declined steadily from 49 percent in 1982 to 33 percent in 1994 (a 32 percent decline). About a third of fatally injured drivers have had BACs of 0.08 percent or above since 1994. Among road users killed in crashes in 2008, drivers of large trucks had the lowest proportion of BACs at or above 0.08 percent (4 percent) and pedestrians ages 16 and older had the highest proportion (38 percent). Alcohol-impaired driving is also a major factor in motorcyclist deaths: 30 percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers had BACs of 0.08 percent or higher in 2008. Between 2007 and 2008, the number of deaths among passenger vehicle drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent declined by 10 percent, consistent with the overall 11 percent decline in passenger vehicle driver deaths during 2008.

Percent of fatally injured people with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by type, 1982-2008

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured people with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent, 1982-2008
Year	All drivers			Passenger vehicle drivers			Large-truck 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	19,664	10,024	51	735	123	17	3,723	1,810	49	5,993	2,668	45
1983	24,138	11,543	48	19,338	9,529	49	767	115	15	3,592	1,783	50	5,582	2,486	45
1984	25,589	11,499	45	20,299	9,378	46	859	107	12	3,896	1,834	47	5,755	2,439	42
1985	25,337	10,685	42	20,057	8,674	43	775	84	11	3,896	1,756	45	5,539	2,263	41
1986	26,630	11,409	43	21,503	9,396	44	736	58	8	3,790	1,772	47	5,547	2,242	40
1987	26,833	11,058	41	22,157	9,343	42	686	53	8	3,409	1,499	44	5,597	2,176	39
1988	27,253	11,103	41	22,884	9,580	42	743	66	9	3,139	1,338	43	5,701	2,162	38
1989	26,389	10,637	40	22,554	9,200	41	681	68	10	2,682	1,233	46	5,557	2,186	39
1990	25,750	10,395	40	21,953	8,973	41	570	50	9	2,790	1,235	44	5,488	2,137	39
1991	23,930	9,485	40	20,551	8,242	40	550	39	7	2,404	1,059	44	4,880	1,895	39
1992	22,584	8,452	37	19,573	7,434	38	506	26	5	2,079	873	42	4,734	1,861	39
1993	23,142	8,322	36	20,036	7,328	37	504	26	5	2,120	825	39	4,740	1,856	39
1994	23,691	7,913	33	20,647	7,083	34	545	36	7	1,995	663	33	4,637	1,718	37
1995	24,390	8,307	34	21,456	7,488	35	546	31	6	1,939	664	34	4,783	1,793	37
1996	24,534	8,175	33	21,631	7,336	34	525	34	6	1,881	683	36	4,670	1,804	39
1997	24,667	7,843	32	21,711	7,069	33	616	19	3	1,878	622	33	4,621	1,638	35
1998	24,743	7,834	32	21,627	6,944	32	628	30	5	2,026	716	35	4,597	1,678	37
1999	25,257	7,918	31	21,899	6,994	32	631	28	4	2,223	736	33	4,325	1,646	38
2000	25,567	8,166	32	21,819	7,127	33	641	28	4	2,591	847	33	4,192	1,534	37
2001	25,869	8,252	32	21,862	7,205	33	591	22	4	2,886	853	30	4,368	1,558	36
2002	26,659	8,515	32	22,537	7,381	33	582	38	7	2,952	940	32	4,367	1,584	36
2003	26,779	8,354	31	22,200	7,120	32	608	23	4	3,358	1,010	30	4,298	1,560	36
2004	26,871	8,155	30	21,952	6,952	32	624	24	4	3,593	995	28	4,237	1,528	36
2005	27,491	8,489	31	21,953	7,104	32	663	22	3	4,142	1,141	28	4,458	1,559	35
2006	27,348	8,578	31	21,592	7,164	33	678	30	4	4,387	1,179	27	4,384	1,656	38
2007	26,570	8,617	32	20,542	7,057	34	663	17	3	4,740	1,328	28	4,305	1,587	37
2008	24,175	8,027	33	18,201	6,332	35	535	19	4	4,763	1,439	30	4,030	1,519	38

The percentage of fatally injured drivers with BACs of 0.15 percent or higher has declined 30 percent since 1982 but with little change since 1996. Twenty-seven percent of passenger vehicle drivers killed in 2008 had BACs at or above 0.15 percent compared with 19 percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers. A higher percentage of pedestrians (30 percent) killed in crashes had BACs at or above 0.15 percent than did any group of drivers.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured people with BACs ≥ 0.15 percent, 1982-2008
Year	All drivers			Passenger vehicle drivers			Large-truck 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	19,664	7,328	37	735	75	10	3,723	1,136	30	5,993	2,077	35
1983	24,138	8,240	34	19,338	6,969	36	767	79	10	3,592	1,115	31	5,582	1,945	35
1984	25,589	8,203	32	20,299	6,864	34	859	70	8	3,896	1,136	29	5,755	1,886	33
1985	25,337	7,521	30	20,057	6,269	31	775	55	7	3,896	1,085	28	5,539	1,732	31
1986	26,630	8,077	30	21,503	6,783	32	736	34	5	3,790	1,144	30	5,547	1,730	31
1987	26,833	7,968	30	22,157	6,854	31	686	34	5	3,409	966	28	5,597	1,735	31
1988	27,253	8,114	30	22,884	7,126	31	743	45	6	3,139	862	27	5,701	1,688	30
1989	26,389	7,774	29	22,554	6,847	30	681	49	7	2,682	791	29	5,557	1,706	31
1990	25,750	7,631	30	21,953	6,670	30	570	32	6	2,790	824	30	5,488	1,697	31
1991	23,930	7,014	29	20,551	6,192	30	550	24	4	2,404	697	29	4,880	1,512	31
1992	22,584	6,258	28	19,573	5,569	28	506	17	3	2,079	590	28	4,734	1,474	31
1993	23,142	6,104	26	20,036	5,494	27	504	14	3	2,120	505	24	4,740	1,499	32
1994	23,691	5,849	25	20,647	5,326	26	545	27	5	1,995	411	21	4,637	1,355	29
1995	24,390	6,018	25	21,456	5,495	26	546	19	3	1,939	415	21	4,783	1,394	29
1996	24,534	5,925	24	21,631	5,383	25	525	18	4	1,881	440	23	4,670	1,433	31
1997	24,667	5,668	23	21,711	5,164	24	616	14	2	1,878	400	21	4,621	1,329	29
1998	24,743	5,692	23	21,627	5,127	24	628	23	4	2,026	449	22	4,597	1,332	29
1999	25,257	5,678	22	21,899	5,108	23	631	22	3	2,223	440	20	4,325	1,292	30
2000	25,567	5,801	23	21,819	5,138	24	641	10	2	2,591	539	21	4,192	1,204	29
2001	25,869	5,976	23	21,862	5,328	24	591	17	3	2,886	522	18	4,368	1,232	28
2002	26,659	6,146	23	22,537	5,463	24	582	23	4	2,952	564	19	4,367	1,267	29
2003	26,779	6,010	22	22,200	5,258	24	608	15	2	3,358	609	18	4,298	1,254	29
2004	26,871	5,837	22	21,952	5,089	23	624	16	2	3,593	614	17	4,237	1,195	28
2005	27,491	6,073	22	21,953	5,220	24	663	14	2	4,142	684	17	4,458	1,246	28
2006	27,348	6,101	22	21,592	5,248	24	678	18	3	4,387	698	16	4,384	1,324	30
2007	26,570	6,275	24	20,542	5,272	26	663	11	2	4,740	841	18	4,305	1,269	29
2008	24,175	5,897	24	18,201	4,830	27	535	12	2	4,763	900	19	4,030	1,221	30

Age and gender

Among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers in 2008, a higher proportion of males than females had BACs at or above 0.08 percent at every age. Overall 40 percent of males and 21 percent of females had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. The percentages were highest among males ages 21-40. The lowest percentages were observed among drivers older than 60 among both men and women. Drivers younger than age 21 who were killed in crashes had far lower percentages of BACs of 0.08 percent or greater than drivers ages 21-30 who died – 27 percent versus 54 percent in 2008.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by driver age and gender, 2008
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	%
< 16	29	10	34	19	2	8	48	12	24
16-20	1,588	518	33	700	110	16	2,289	630	28
21-30	3,341	1,987	59	1,030	358	35	4,371	2,345	54
31-40	1,924	1,053	55	717	246	34	2,641	1,299	49
41-50	1,899	853	45	809	223	28	2,708	1,076	40
51-60	1,570	517	33	701	108	15	2,271	625	28
61-70	1,081	180	17	489	21	4	1,571	202	13
> 70	1,526	113	7	760	21	3	2,287	134	6
Total*	12,969	5,240	40	5,226	1,091	21	18,201	6,332	35
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers in 2008, 31 percent of males and 15 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, 2008
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	%
< 16	29	7	23	19	1	7	48	8	17
16-20	1,588	332	21	700	68	10	2,289	400	17
21-30	3,341	1,544	46	1,030	278	27	4,371	1,821	42
31-40	1,924	844	44	717	191	27	2,641	1,035	39
41-50	1,899	686	36	809	169	21	2,708	856	32
51-60	1,570	413	26	701	76	11	2,271	489	22
61-70	1,081	132	12	489	12	2	1,571	144	9
> 70	1,526	56	4	760	12	2	2,287	69	3
Total*	12,969	4,022	31	5,226	808	15	18,201	4,830	27
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Since the 1980s the percentage 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 declines leveled off. Among drivers ages 21-30, there have been increases in the percentage with BACs at or above 0.08 percent during the past few years.

Percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by driver age, 1982-2008

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by driver age, 1982-2008
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	6,244	3,948	63	9,861	4,208	43
1983	3,326	1,681	51	6,053	3,859	64	9,845	3,943	40
1984	3,441	1,595	46	6,412	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	12,525	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	3,036	774	25	4,775	2,275	48	13,777	4,004	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	2,985	734	25	5,067	2,492	49	13,809	3,852	28
2006	3,020	831	28	5,159	2,535	49	13,321	3,779	28
2007	2,728	766	28	5,028	2,592	52	12,697	3,675	29
2008	2,289	630	28	4,371	2,345	54	11,478	3,336	29

When alcohol-impaired crashes occur

Alcohol involvement in fatal crashes peaks at night. Between 9 pm and 6 am, 60 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers in 2008 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent, compared with 20 percent during other hours.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with high BACs by nighttime vs. other times, 2008
Time of day	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.15
Time of day	Num	Num	%	Num	%
9pm-6am	6,672	4,032	60	3,135	47
Other hours	11,529	2,300	20	1,695	15
Total	18,201	6,332	35	4,830	27

The 3-hour period with the highest percentage of driver fatalities with BACs of 0.08 percent or higher is midnight to 3 am.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with high BACs by time of day, 2008
Time of day	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.15
Time of day	Num	Num	%	Num	%
Midnight-3 am	2,612	1,832	70	1,473	56
3 am-6 am	1,679	930	55	690	41
6 am-9 am	2,042	325	16	228	11
9 am-noon	1,934	176	9	120	6
Noon-3 pm	2,390	288	12	205	9
3 pm-6 pm	2,693	554	21	413	15
6 pm-9 pm	2,302	863	37	664	29
9 pm-midnight	2,381	1,270	53	973	41
Total*	18,201	6,332	35	4,830	27
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty-nine percent of passenger vehicle drivers fatally injured on weekends (6 pm Friday to 6 am Monday) in 2008 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent, compared with 25 percent at other times.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with high BACs by weekend vs. other times, 2008
	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.15
	Num	Num	%	Num	%
Weekend (6 pm Friday to 6 am Monday)	7,193	3,530	49	2,709	38
Other times	11,008	2,802	25	2,121	19
Total	18,201	6,332	35	4,830	27

Alcohol involvement is very high in nighttime (9 pm to 6 am) single-vehicle crashes, in which 70 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers in 2008 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. An additional 6 percent had BACs of 0.01 to 0.07 percent. 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, 2008
		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	4,647	1,143	25	268	6	3,236	70	2,539	55
Single vehicle	Day	5,027	3,270	65	195	4	1,562	31	1,186	24
Multiple vehicle	Night	2,022	1,113	55	115	6	794	39	596	29
Multiple vehicle	Day	6,326	5,490	87	194	3	642	10	441	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: an update using 1996 data. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 61:387-95.

²Peck, R.C.; Gebers, M.A.; Voas, R.B.; and Romano, E. 2008. The relationship between blood alcohol concentration (BAC), age, and crash risk. Journal of Safety Research 39:311-19.

³Lund, A.K.; McCartt, A.T.; and Farmer, C.M. 2007. Contribution of alcohol-impaired driving to motor vehicle crash deaths in 2005. Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety (CD-ROM). Oslo, Norway: International Council on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety.

⁴Subramanian, 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: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.