DUI & drunk-driving statistics (U.S., 2023)
Alcohol-impaired driving accounted for roughly three in ten U.S. traffic deaths in 2023. The total fell from the year before, but crashes involving very high blood alcohol levels remain common. All figures below are from NHTSA.
The 2023 totals
NHTSA reported 12,429 people killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in 2023 — those involving a driver at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. That is about 30% of all traffic deaths, and down 7.6% from 2022. Source: NHTSA, 2023.
High-BAC crashes and when they happen
| Deaths involving a driver at BAC .15+ (2023) | 8,272 — 67% of alcohol-impaired deaths |
|---|---|
| Fatal alcohol-impaired crashes in the dark (2023) | 69% |
| Weekend alcohol involvement (2023) | 28% |
| Weekday alcohol involvement (2023) | 16% |
The figures in the table are from NHTSA's 2023 alcohol-impaired-driving traffic-safety facts. Two-thirds of these deaths involved a driver at nearly double the legal limit, and most occurred after dark.
The economic cost
Using 2019 economic-cost data, NHTSA estimated alcohol-impaired crashes cost about ~$58 billion of the $340 billion total cost of motor-vehicle crashes. Source: NHTSA, 2019 data.
Related road-safety statistics
- Car accident statistics — the overall national picture.
- Pedestrian accident statistics — alcohol is involved in 46% of fatal pedestrian crashes.
- Motorcycle accident statistics — 41% of riders killed in single-vehicle crashes were impaired.
Frequently asked questions
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Sources
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