Twenty percent of the public 16 and older had in the past year driven a motor vehicle within two hours of drinking alcohol. About two-thirds of these, or 13% of the total population 16 and older had done so in the past 30 days.
The survey produced an estimate of 85.5 million past-month drinking-driving trips, up from 73.7 million trips in 2004 and reversing a declining trend in such trips since 1995. More than three-fourths (78%) of the trips were made by males.
Those who reported driving within two hours of drinking in the past year tended to be more frequent drinkers than did other drivers who drink but do not drive afterwards.
More than one in four (28%) drinking drivers usually consumed alcoholic beverages 3 or more days a week, compared to 10% of drivers who drink but do not drink and drive.
While few 16- to 20-year-olds reported drinking and driving, those that did averaged 5.7 drinks per sitting during the times they drink alcohol (inclusive of all drinking occasions, not just drinking and driving). For 21- to 24-year-old drinking drivers, their average alcohol intake was 4.2 drinks per sitting. The average number of drinks dropped sharply again for 25- to 34-year-old drinking drivers (3.0), then declined more slowly across ensuing age groups.
The survey also produced an estimate of 17.2 million drivers (or 8% of all drivers) having driven one or more times in the preceding 12 months when they thought they were over the legal limit for alcohol and driving. These were mostly males, by a more than two-to-one ratio.
Several questions in the survey were used to classify a segment of the sample as problem drinkers. Problem drinkers composed 22% of past-month drinking drivers, but 36% (or 31 million) of past-month drinking and driving trips. Drinking drivers who were problem drinkers were almost twice as likely as other drinker-drivers to report driving at least once in the past year when they thought they were over the legal limit for alcohol and driving (56% compared to 24%).
Read Full Report (PDF)
