5 Alarming Stats About Impaired Driving

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.”

Driving safety is a huge concern for every one that hits the open road. That’s especially true for truck driving professionals, and according to the U.S. Labor Department, more truck drivers were fatally injured on the job than workers in any other single occupation – We wrote about it here on our list of 7 Truck Driver Safety Tips.

However, as a nod to the rest of the drivers in the United States and Canada, and in observance of National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, here is a list of five alarming facts about impaired driving.

1. Traffic Deaths Caused by Alcohol-Impaired Driving

In 2013, 10,076 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.¹

2. Young Traffic Deaths

Of the 1,149 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2013, 200 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.¹

3. Over 50% of Passengers

Of the 200 child passengers ages, 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2013, over half (121) were riding in the vehicle with the alcohol-impaired driver.¹

4. Alcohol & Narcotics Big Influencers

In 2010, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. That’s one percent of the 112 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.²

5. Drugs in Combination with Alcohol

Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are often used in combination with alcohol.³

1. Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Traffic Safety Facts 2013 Data: Alcohol-Impaired Driving. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2014 [cited 2015 May 18]. Available at URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812102.pdf.

2. Bergen G., Shults RA., Rudd RA. (October 4, 2011). Vital Signs: Alcohol-Impaired Driving Among Adults –the United States, 2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 60:39:1351.

3. Jones RK, Shinar D, Walsh JM. State of knowledge of drug-impaired driving. Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); 2003. Report DOT HS 809 642.

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