Alcohol is a major factor in traffic accidents. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there was an alcohol-impaired traffic fatality every 53 minutes in 2014. Alcohol-impaired crashes are those that involve at least one driver or a motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent or above, the legal definition of drunk driving. According to NHTSA, 9,967 people died in alcohol-impaired crashes in 2014, down 1.1 percent from 10,076 in 2013. In 2014 alcohol-impaired crash fatalities accounted for 31 percent of all crash fatalities, the same proportion as in 2012 and 2013.

The definition of drunk driving is consistent throughout the United States. All states and the District of Columbia define impairment as driving with a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) at or above 0.08 percent. In addition, they all have zero tolerance laws prohibiting drivers under the age of 21 from drinking and driving. Generally the BAC in these cases is 0.02 percent.

Anti-drunk-driving campaigns especially target drivers under the age of 21, repeat offenders and 21-to 34-year-olds, the age group that is responsible for more alcohol-related fatal crashes than any other. Young drivers are those least responsive to arguments against drunk driving, according to NHTSA.

To make sellers and servers of liquor more careful about to whom and how they serve drinks, 42 states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws or have case law holding commercial liquor servers legally liable for the damage, injuries and deaths a drunk driver causes. Thirty-nine states have enacted laws or have case law that permit social hosts who serve liquor to people who subsequently are involved in crashes to be held liable for any injury or death. (See chart below and Background.)

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicates that the 9,967 alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2014 accounted for about one out of three highway deaths on U.S. roads.

As part of its program to address drunk driving, NHTSA worked with the National Center for DWI Courts to help develop new alcohol ignition interlock guidelines, which were released in July 2013. Ignition interlock systems require drivers to blow into a breathalyzer-like device to ensure the individual is sober before allowing the vehicle to start. The new guidelines will help familiarize courts that adjudicate "driving while intoxicated” cases about ignition interlock systems. (See Background: Repeat Offenders).