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DWI Facts & Stats: |
| The Beer Facts |
| The total of domestic and imported beer sales in the U.S. in 1993:
5,893,100,000 gallons |
| Estimatd number of beer drinkers in the U.S.: 84,000,000 |
| Estimated number of 12 ounce servings of beer sold in the U.S. in
1993: 62,859,733,333 |
| Number of breweries licensed to operate in the U.S. in 1973: =76,
1983=89, 1989=215, 1993=391 |
| Number of jobs generated by the beer industry : 49,000 |
| Amount of money that beer generates each year in the U.S. economy:
$ 167,500,000,000 |
| Amount collected each year by local, state, and federal govt.'s
from the beer business: $ 13,000,000,000 |
| Source: Beer, The Magazine |
| DWI Facts & Stats |
| Arrests and Convictions Arrests for DUI/DWI accounted for one of
the highest (1.4 million) arrest counts among the specific categories
in 1994. Larceny-theft (1.5 million) and drug abuse violations (1.4
million) were also high. |
| Of the 14.6 million arrests for criminal infractions in 1994, driving
under the influence was the offense most often cited among adults.
( FBI,1995) |
|
Despite a two percent decline in the national crime rate, the number
of arrests for driving under the influence increased from 1.2 million
in 1993 to 1.4 million in 1994. This is an arrest rate of one for
every 127 licensed drivers in the U.S. ( NHTSA, 1996) |
| About 2% of the driving age public have been stopped by police in
the past year for suspicion of a drinking and driving violation. (
NHTSA, 1996) |
| About a third of all drivers arrested for DWI are repeat offenders
according to data gathered from 12 states. |
| More than 80% of impaired drivers admitted to hospital emergency
departments were not held responsible for the crime, according to
a recent study. While a high rate of impairment (45%) existed in seriously
injured motorists in a metropolitan region, the majority were not
charged by the police. ( Orsay, et al. 1994) |
| In most cases, emergency physicians are not legally required to
report impaired drivers to the authorities. |
| For DWI offenders sentenced to jail, the median term imposed was
six months; those with two or more prior DWI sentences received sentences
that were more than 1.3 times as long as first-timers ( sourcebook,1993)
|
| Prior to their arrest for DWI, half of the convicted offenders in
jail had consumed at least six ounces of pure alcohol ( about equal
to the alcoholic content of 12 bottles of beer or 8 mixed drinks)
in about 5 hours. About 29% consumed at least 11 ounces of pure alcohol
equivalent to 22 beers) prior to their arrests. ( BJS, 1992) |
| Nearly nine out of ten of those in jail (86%) for DWI had previously
been sentenced to probation, jail or prison for DWI or for other offenses.
( BJS,1992) |
| One out of 8 intoxicated drivers in fatal crashes have had a prior
DWI conviction within the past three years. ( NHTSA, 1996) |
| Youth arrests (for under 18) increased significantly from 1984 to
1993 for drunkenness (42.9%), DUI (50.2%) and drug abuse ( 27.8%).
(FBI,1994) |
| Blood Alcohol Levels |
| Sobriety Checkpoints |
| Two thirds of the driving age public believe sobriety checkpoints
should be used more frequently than they are now. Even a majority
of drivers who drink support increased use of sobriety checkpoints.
|
| BAC Levels |
| About 2 billion miles were driven at a BAC between .08% and .099%.
Approximately 41,000 people were injured and 1,000 were killed in
crashes at this BAC level. ( Miller et al. 1996b, 1996c) |
| Crashes in 1993 involving drivers at BACs between .08% and .099%
cost society $4.6 billion, including $130 million in medical spending.
Every vehicle mile traveled at this BAC costs $2.50, including $.80
to people other than the drunk driver. |
| When asked about the number of drinks of their usual alcoholic beverage
that they could consume before they should not drive, fully 74% said
they should not drive after 4 or fewer drinks. (The equivalent of
.06BAC for an average 170 pound male within a two hour period on an
empty stomach) |
| Of those people who knew their states BAC limit, a higher percentage
of residents of states with a .08 limit were correct than residents
of states with a .10 limit. ( NHTSA,1996) |
| Driving at BAC levels between .08% and .099% pose an excess risk
far higher than the mobility ($.30 per mile). Not driving would cost
eight times less than driving in this BAC range. ( Miller et al.,
1996b) |
| Zero tolerance laws reduce young drivers' alcohol-involved crashes
by 20% ( Hingson,Hereen and Winter, 1995) |
| 41% of the driving age public said they do not know whether or not
their state has a different BAC limit for drivers under the age of
21. Those who thought their state had a lower BAC limit for young
drivers were asked to say what they thought it was; only 12% of those
people cited the correct limit. |
| About 80% of the driving age public have heard of blood alcohol
concentration levels, but only about one in five know the BAC limit
in their state. ( NHTSA, 1996) |
| Even at blood alcohol content levels as low as 0.02, alcohol affects
driving ability and crash likelihood. The probability of a crash begins
to increase significantly at 0.05 BAC and climbs rapidly after about
0.08 percent ( IIHS,1995) |
| Among fatally injured male drivers of passenger cars, 42% had BACs of 0.10 % or more in 1994. The percentage for women was 21. |
Source: M.A.D.D.
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