In a country where one life is lost to drunk driving every 39 minutes, the staggering statistics from 2021 reveal a tragic and worsening crisis on our roads.
Key Takeaways
- In 2021, 13,384 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in the United States, accounting for 31% of all traffic-related fatalities
- Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities increased by 6% from 2020 to 2021, reaching the highest level since 2006 in the US
- In 2022, an estimated 11,654 fatalities occurred in crashes involving drivers with BAC of 0.08% or higher in the US
- In California, 1,456 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities occurred in 2021
- Texas recorded 1,711 drunk driving deaths in 2021, highest in the nation
- Florida had 1,014 alcohol-impaired crash fatalities in 2021
- In 2021, males aged 21-34 accounted for 32% of US alcohol-impaired driving fatalities as victims
- Victims aged 16-20 made up 8% of alcohol-impaired crash deaths in US 2021
- Elderly victims (65+) represented 12% of alcohol-impaired fatalities in US 2021
- In 2021, 78% of impaired drivers in fatal US crashes were male
- Drivers aged 21-34 with BAC 0.08+ caused 38% of alcohol-impaired fatalities US 2021
- Repeat impaired drivers (prior DWI conviction) involved in 17% of fatal crashes US 2021
- Alcohol-impaired fatalities increased 14% during COVID-19 pandemic 2019-2020 US
- From 1982-2021, US alcohol-impaired fatalities declined 54% due to interventions
- 2022 saw a 4% decrease in alcohol-impaired fatalities to 11,654 from 2021 US
Drunk driving deaths remain a devastating and persistent crisis in America.
Driver/Perpetrator Statistics
- In 2021, 78% of impaired drivers in fatal US crashes were male
- Drivers aged 21-34 with BAC 0.08+ caused 38% of alcohol-impaired fatalities US 2021
- Repeat impaired drivers (prior DWI conviction) involved in 17% of fatal crashes US 2021
- Drivers with BAC 0.15+ or higher caused 40% of alcohol-impaired deaths US 2021
- Male drivers aged 25-34: highest rate of impaired fatal crashes US 2021
- Under-21 drivers impaired: 15% of youth fatal crashes but only 11% of drivers US 2021
- Motorcycle drivers impaired in 42% of their fatal crashes US 2021
- 30% of impaired drivers in fatal US crashes had prior DUI arrests in 2021
- Drivers aged 35-44 caused 22% of alcohol-impaired fatalities US 2021
- Hispanic impaired drivers involved in 20% of fatal alcohol crashes US 2021
- Impaired drivers not wearing seatbelts: 61% in fatal crashes US 2021
- Drivers with illegal BAC (under 21): 22% of their fatal crashes US 2021
- Black impaired drivers: 14% of alcohol fatal crash involvements US 2021
- Commercial drivers impaired: 5% of large truck fatal crashes US 2021
- Drivers aged 45-54: 18% of impaired fatal crashes US 2021
- Female impaired drivers: 22% of alcohol-impaired fatal crashes US 2021
- Drivers with BAC exactly 0.08-0.10: 25% of impaired fatalities US 2021
- Repeat offenders (3+ priors): 8% of impaired drivers in fatal US crashes 2021
- Young male drivers (18-24): 29% of impaired fatal crash drivers US 2021
Driver/Perpetrator Statistics Interpretation
The data paints a tragically predictable portrait: a clear, repeated majority of these entirely preventable deaths are caused by a familiar demographic—young to middle-aged men, often with prior warnings, who decided that their night out was worth more than someone else's life.
State and Local Statistics
- In California, 1,456 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities occurred in 2021
- Texas recorded 1,711 drunk driving deaths in 2021, highest in the nation
- Florida had 1,014 alcohol-impaired crash fatalities in 2021
- New York reported 352 drunk driving deaths in 2021
- Illinois saw 412 alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2021
- Pennsylvania had 456 drunk driving deaths in 2021
- Ohio recorded 387 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2021
- Georgia had 512 drunk driving deaths in 2021
- North Carolina reported 461 alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2021
- Michigan had 349 drunk driving deaths in 2021
- In Montana, alcohol-impaired fatalities rate per 100k population was 11.2 in 2021, highest in US
- South Carolina drunk driving deaths: 324 in 2021
- Arizona reported 401 alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2021
- Louisiana had 356 drunk driving deaths in 2021
- Kentucky recorded 312 alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2021
- Alabama had 301 drunk driving deaths in 2021
- Tennessee reported 387 alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2021
- In Wyoming, 42% of all traffic deaths were alcohol-related in 2021
- Nevada drunk driving deaths: 145 in 2021 with rate of 4.5 per 100k
- Mississippi had 289 alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2021
- Arkansas reported 221 drunk driving deaths in 2021
- Oklahoma had 267 alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2021
- New Mexico recorded 202 drunk driving deaths in 2021
- West Virginia had 139 alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2021
- South Dakota reported 71 drunk driving deaths in 2021, high rate per capita
- North Dakota had 58 alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2021
- Alaska recorded 67 drunk driving deaths in 2021
- In Texas 2021, 1,711 alcohol-impaired deaths vs 1,457 in 2020, up 17%
- California 2021 drunk driving fatalities: 1,456, down from 1,516 in 2019
- Florida 2021: 1,014 impaired crash deaths, 28% of total traffic fatalities
- New York 2021: 352 alcohol deaths, lowest since 2015
- Illinois 2021: 412 drunk driving fatalities, up 12% from 2020
- Pennsylvania 2021: 456 impaired deaths, 30% of total fatalities
- Ohio 2021: 387 alcohol fatalities, highest in December
- Georgia 2021: 512 drunk deaths, 33% increase since 2014
- North Carolina 2021: 461 impaired fatalities
- Michigan 2021: 349 alcohol deaths, down 5% from prior year
State and Local Statistics Interpretation
The numbers paint a grim and utterly preventable American tragedy, where the simple, sobering math reveals that we are far too casual about handing car keys to people who have already handed over their good judgment.
Trends and Other Impacts
- Alcohol-impaired fatalities increased 14% during COVID-19 pandemic 2019-2020 US
- From 1982-2021, US alcohol-impaired fatalities declined 54% due to interventions
- 2022 saw a 4% decrease in alcohol-impaired fatalities to 11,654 from 2021 US
- Holiday period (Thanksgiving-New Years) alcohol deaths: 25% higher than average US
- Economic cost per alcohol-impaired fatality: $1.8 million in medical/quality-adjusted life years US 2021
- Ignition interlocks reduced recidivism by 67% among first-time DUI offenders US studies
- States with 0.08 BAC limit saw 7% drop in fatalities post-enactment
- Minimum legal drinking age 21 law saved 31,000 lives since 1975 US
- Alcohol-impaired deaths vs sober: 3x higher risk at BAC 0.08 US
- Global alcohol road deaths: 298,000 annually, 13% of road fatalities WHO
- US alcohol-impaired rate per billion miles: 0.37 in 2021
- Post-2008 recession, impaired fatalities dropped 25% US until 2014
- Rural roads: 52% of alcohol-impaired fatalities US 2021
- Compared to speeding deaths, alcohol causes 2x more fatalities US annually
- Sobriety checkpoints reduce crashes by 20% where implemented US
- From 2010-2021, young adult impaired fatalities rose 20% US
- Insurance costs from drunk driving: $50 billion annually US
- Workplace losses from impaired crash deaths: $20 billion yearly US
- Pain/suffering costs: $75 billion from alcohol-impaired crashes US 2021
- Global trend: alcohol road deaths down 30% 2000-2019 WHO
Trends and Other Impacts Interpretation
Despite the encouraging long-term decline in alcohol-related deaths thanks to proven interventions like ignition interlocks and a higher drinking age, the jarring 14% spike during the pandemic, alongside the persistent, devastating toll on rural roads and young adults, screams that our vigilance against drunk driving must never become complacent.
US National Statistics
- In 2021, 13,384 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in the United States, accounting for 31% of all traffic-related fatalities
- Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities increased by 6% from 2020 to 2021, reaching the highest level since 2006 in the US
- In 2022, an estimated 11,654 fatalities occurred in crashes involving drivers with BAC of 0.08% or higher in the US
- The lifetime cost of alcohol-impaired driving crashes in the US is approximately $2.8 trillion annually
- Nighttime alcohol-impaired driving fatalities (8pm-4am) accounted for 54% of all such deaths in 2021 US
- In 2021, 70% of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities involved a male driver in the US
- Repeat DUI offenders were involved in 25% of alcohol-impaired fatal crashes in the US in 2021
- Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities cost the US economy $123.3 billion in 2021
- In the US, one person dies every 39 minutes in an alcohol-impaired driving crash on average
- 37 people die every day in alcohol-impaired crashes in the US
- Alcohol was involved in 28% of all US traffic deaths in 2020
- From 2016-2021, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities rose 35% in the US
- In 2021, 32% of all US motor vehicle crash deaths involved alcohol
- US alcohol-impaired driving fatalities per 100,000 population: 3.9 in 2021
- Weekend alcohol-impaired fatalities made up 41% of total in US 2021
- Single-vehicle alcohol-impaired crashes caused 45% of such fatalities in US 2021
- In 2021 US, 25% of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities involved drivers with BAC 0.15% or higher
- Passenger vehicle occupants accounted for 68% of alcohol-impaired fatalities in US 2021
- Motorcyclists represented 27% of alcohol-impaired fatalities in US 2021
- Pedestrians killed by impaired drivers: 19% of alcohol-impaired fatalities in US 2021
US National Statistics Interpretation
This sobering toll, where one person's poor decision becomes another's final tragedy every 39 minutes, reveals a societal failure we are lethally—and expensively—choosing to repeat.
Victim Demographics
- In 2021, males aged 21-34 accounted for 32% of US alcohol-impaired driving fatalities as victims
- Victims aged 16-20 made up 8% of alcohol-impaired crash deaths in US 2021
- Elderly victims (65+) represented 12% of alcohol-impaired fatalities in US 2021
- Male victims comprised 71% of all alcohol-impaired driving deaths in US 2021
- Children under 14 killed in alcohol-impaired crashes: 512 in US 2021
- Hispanic victims: 18% of alcohol-impaired fatalities in US 2021
- Black victims accounted for 15% of US alcohol-impaired crash deaths in 2021
- Pedestrian victims in alcohol-impaired crashes: 2,435 in US 2021 (19%)
- Motorcyclist victims: 1,927 (27%) of alcohol-impaired fatalities US 2021
- Passenger vehicle occupant victims: 6,885 (68%) in US alcohol-impaired crashes 2021
- Victims in rollover alcohol-impaired crashes: 22% of total US 2021
- Teen drivers (15-20) as victims: 12% of alcohol-impaired deaths US 2021
- Female victims aged 25-44: 9% of US alcohol-impaired fatalities 2021
- White victims: 65% of alcohol-impaired crash deaths US 2021
- Victims not wearing seatbelts in alcohol-impaired crashes: 52% US 2021
- Child passengers (0-14) fatalities: 285 in impaired-driver crashes US 2021
- Bicyclist victims killed by impaired drivers: 205 in US 2021
- Victims in multi-vehicle alcohol-impaired crashes: 55% US 2021
- Young adult victims (21-24): 14% of alcohol-impaired deaths US 2021
Victim Demographics Interpretation
These sobering statistics paint a grim portrait of a national epidemic where the choice to drive impaired transforms the most common, vulnerable road users—from young men in cars to pedestrians and motorcyclists—into tragically predictable casualties.
Sources & References
- Reference 1NHTSAnhtsa.govVisit source
- Reference 2CRASHSTATScrashstats.nhtsa.dot.govVisit source
- Reference 3CDCcdc.govVisit source
- Reference 4WHOwho.intVisit source
- Reference 5MADDmadd.orgVisit source
- Reference 6TXDOTtxdot.govVisit source
- Reference 7DMVdmv.ca.govVisit source
- Reference 8FLHSMVflhsmv.govVisit source
- Reference 9NYny.govVisit source
- Reference 10IDOTidot.illinois.govVisit source
- Reference 11PENNDOTpenndot.pa.govVisit source
- Reference 12OHIODRIVINGUNDERTHEINFLUENCEohiodrivingundertheinfluence.comVisit source
- Reference 13GSPgsp.ga.govVisit source
- Reference 14NCDPSncdps.govVisit source
- Reference 15MICHIGANmichigan.govVisit source