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A 2004 Summary of Statistics, from MADD 

December 16, 2004

In 2003, an estimated 17,013 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes in the USA — an average of one every 31 minutes. These deaths constitute 40 percent of the 42,643 total traffic fatalities. ^[i]

In 2001, more than half a million people were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present — an average of one person injured almost every minute. ^{[ii], [iii]}

For fatal crashes occurring from midnight to 3:00 AM, 77 percent involved alcohol in 2003.  The next most dangerous time period for alcohol-related crash deaths were 9 PM to midnight (64 percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol), followed by 3 AM to 6 AM (60 percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol). ^[iv]

About three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives. ^[v]

Impairment is not determined by the type of drink, but rather by the amount of alcohol ingested over a specific period of time. ^[vi]

A standard drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 72-proof distilled spirits, all of which contain the same amount of alcohol – about .54 ounces. ^[vii]

The impact of alcohol involvement increases with injury severity. Alcohol-involved crashes accounted for 10 percent of property damage only crash costs, 21 percent of nonfatal injury crash costs; and 46 percent of fatal injury crash costs. ^[viii]

Drunk driving is the nation’s most frequently committed violent crime, killing someone every 31 minutes. ^[ix]

Many studies have found that beer is the preferred beverage of drinking drivers.[x]

Beer is the drink most commonly consumed by people stopped for alcohol-impaired driving or involved in alcohol-related crashes.[xi]

Beer is the drink of choice in most cases of heavy drinking, binge drinking, drunk driving and underage drinking. [xii]

Alcohol is society's legal, oldest and most popular drug.[xiii]

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people from 2 to 33 years old.[xiv]

The rate of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes is more than 3 times as high at night as during the day (61 percent vs. 18 percent). For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate is 5 times as high at night (16 percent vs. 3 percent).[xv]

In 2003, 30 percent of all fatal crashes during the week were alcohol-related, compared to 53 percent on weekends. For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate was 5 percent during the week and 12 percent during the weekend.[xvi]

Those drivers 21 to 24 years old were most likely to be intoxicated (BAC of 0.08 g/dl or greater) in fatal crashes in 2003.  Thirty-two percent of drivers 21 to 24 years old involved in fatal crashes were intoxicated, followed by ages 25 to 34 (27 percent) and 35 to 44 (24 percent).[xvii]

Those drivers over the age of 70 were least likely to be intoxicated (BAC of 0.08 g/dl or greater) in fatal crashes in 2003 – only five percent were intoxicated.[xviii]

The highest prevalence of both binge and heavy drinking in 2002 was for young adults aged 18 to 25, with the peak rate occurring at age 21. The rate of binge drinking was 40.9 percent for young adults and 50.2 percent at age 21.[xix]

The speed of alcohol absorption affects the rate at which one becomes drunk.   Unlike foods, alcohol does not have to be slowly digested.  As a person drinks faster than the alcohol can be eliminated, the drug accumulates in the body, resulting in higher and higher levels of alcohol in the blood.[xx]

The average person metabolizes alcohol at the rate of about one drink per hour. Only time will sober a person up.  Drinking strong coffee, exercising or taking a cold shower will not help.[xxi]

There is evidence that heavier drinkers prefer to drink at bars and other person's homes, and at multiple locations requiring longer driver distances.  Young drivers have been found to prefer drinking at private parties, while older, more educated drivers prefer bars and taverns. [xxii]

Alcohol-related fatalities are caused primarily by the consumption of beer (80 percent) followed by liquor/wine (20 percent).[xxiii]

About 45 percent of those 21 years of age and older report that they did not consume any alcohol in the past month.  Another 23 percent report binge drinking during that period.[xxiv]

Approximately 18 million Americans—8.5 percent of the population—meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism.[xxv]

Binge drinkers (those who have five or more drinks on any occasion) are only 20 percent of the US population, but drink 83 percent of the alcohol. Frequent bingers (those who have five or more drinks at a time five or more times in the past month) are only six percent of the US population, but drink 50 percent of the alcohol.[xxvi]

Since MADD's founding in 1980, alcohol-related traffic fatalities have decreased 44 percent (from 30,429 to 17,013)[xxvii] and MADD has helped save almost 300,000 lives.[xxviii]

Recent advertising expenditures in the United States for beer, wine, and liquor combined ($1.9 billion) totaled over 10 times the amount spent on milk ads ($137.7 million). ^{[xxix], [xxx]}

Studies show that alcohol advertising may predispose young people to drinking.  As a result, efforts to prevent drinking and driving problems among young people should give attention to countering the potential effects of alcohol advertising.^{[xxxi], [xxxii], [xxxiii]}

Young people view approximately 20,000 commercials each year, of which nearly 2,000 are for beer and wine.[xxxiv]

Underage youth ages 12 to 20 were 128 times more likely to see an alcohol product ad on television than an alcohol company-sponsored responsibility ad in 2002.  They were 400 times more likely to see a product ad than an ad discouraging underage drinking and 188 times more likely to see an alcohol product ad than one against drinking and driving.[xxxv]

Forty-nine percent of children live in homes with no set rules about TV watching.[xxxvi]

The availability of alcohol within a community can influence drinking rates and related problems.[xxxvii]

Alcohol use was depicted, typically in a positive light, in more than 70 percent of a sample of episodes in prime-time television programming in 1999.[xxxviii]

Alcohol use was depicted, typically in a positive light, in more than 90 percent of the 200 most popular movie rentals for 1996-1997.[xxxix]

About 17 percent of the 1,000 most popular songs in 1996-1997 across five genres of music popular with youth contained alcohol references, including almost one-half of the rap music.[xl]

Approximately 1.5 million drivers were arrested in 2002 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of 1 for every 130 licensed drivers in the United States (2003 data not yet available).[xli]

One arrest is made for driving under the influence for every 772 episodes of driving within two hours of drinking and for every 88 episodes of driving over the illegal limit in the U.S.[xlii]

Among the 5.3 million convicted offenders under the jurisdiction of corrections agencies in 1996, nearly 2 million, or about 36 percent, were estimated to have been drinking at the time of the offense.[xliii]

Forty percent of people convicted of violent victimizations (sexual assault, robbery, homicide, aggravated assault, and simple assault) and 25 percent of victims had been drinking at the time of the event.[xliv]

Only 17 percent of impaired drivers who are injured in crashes are charged and convicted.  Eleven percent are charged and not convicted and 72 percent are never charged.[xlv]

Incidence of intoxication (BAC of 0.08 g/dl or greater) for drivers in fatal crashes in 2003 was highest for motorcycle operators (29 percent) and lowest for drivers of large trucks (1 percent). The incidence of intoxication for drivers of light trucks and passenger car drivers was the same (22 percent).[xlvi]

Research continues to show that young drivers 15 to 20 years old are more often involved in alcohol-related crashes than any other comparable age group.  Alcohol-crash involvement rates, share of the alcohol-crash problem and alcohol-crash risk all reach their peaks with young drivers, with the peaks for fatal crashes occurring at age 21.[xlvii]

Among those that were primarily legislative in nature, laws establishing administrative license revocation (ALR) have been found to reduce alcohol-related crashes by up to 40 percent.  This adds support for prior research showing the effectiveness of driver license sanctions in general.[xlviii]

Of the general driving age public, 97 percent see drinking and driving as a threat to their personal safety, and 66 percent feel it is extremely important to do something to reduce the problem in terms of where tax dollars should be spent.[xlix]

The driver, pedestrian, or both were intoxicated in 46 percent of all fatal pedestrian crashes in 2003. In these crashes, the intoxication rate for pedestrians was nearly triple the rate for drivers — 34 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Both the pedestrian and the driver were intoxicated in 6 percent of the crashes that resulted in a pedestrian fatality.[l]

The crash risk associated with driving after drinking across all blood alcohol content levels is higher for underage drinkers than for adults.[li]

In 2003, safety belts were used by only 25 percent of the fatally injured intoxicated drivers (BAC of 0.08 g/dl or greater), compared to 40 percent of fatally injured drinking drivers (BAC between 0.01 g/dl and 0.07 g/dl) and 56 percent of fatally injured sober drivers.[lii]

From 1975 through 2003, it is estimated that safety belts saved 179,756 lives, including 14,903 lives saved in 2003.  If all passenger vehicle occupants over age 4 wore safety belts, 20,984 lives (that is, an additional 6,081) could have been saved in 2003.[liii]

It is estimated that 446 children under age 5 were saved as a result of child restraint use in 2003.  An estimated 7,020 lives were saved by child restraints from 1975-2003.[liv]

Over half (56 percent) of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes in 2003 were unrestrained.[lv]

In 2003, 65 percent of young drivers (15 to 20 years old) of passenger vehicles involved in fatal crashes who had been drinking were unrestrained.  Of the young drivers who had been drinking and were killed, 74 percent were unrestrained.[lvi]

During 2003, 8,089 passenger vehicle occupants under 15 years old were involved in fatal crashes. For those children, where restraint use was known, 30 percent were unrestrained; among those who were fatally injured, 53 percent were unrestrained.[lvii]

In 2003, 36 percent of passenger car occupants and 40 percent of light truck occupants involved in fatal crashes were unrestrained.[lviii]

In 2004, the average safety belt usage was 11 percentage points higher in states with primary laws than in states without (84 percent to 73 percent).[lix]

In 2003, 25 percent of 15- to 20-year-old drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking.  Nineteen percent were intoxicated.[lx]

In 2003, 28 percent of the young male drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking at the time of the crash, compared with 13 percent of the young female drivers involved in fatal crashes.[lxi]

Fifty-four percent of teenage motor vehicle deaths in 2000 occurred on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.[lxii]

Findings from four studies have quantified the crash risk associated with teenage drivers transporting teenage passengers.   Collectively, these studies indicate that the presence of passengers strongly increases crash risk for teenage drivers; the more passengers the greater the risk.[lxiii]

About 1 in 7 Americans aged 12 or older in 2002 (33.5 million persons) drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months prior to the interview. Among young adults aged 18 to 25 years, 26.6 percent drove under the influence of alcohol.[lxiv]

The median age at which Americans begin drinking is 15.9 years old. [lxv]

Alcohol is the No. 1 drug problem among our youth.[lxvi]

Underage drinkers are responsible for between 10 and 20 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States.[lxvii]

About 10.7 million people aged 12 to 20 years reported current use of alcohol in 2002 – (28.8 percent of this age group). Of these, nearly 7.2 million or 19.3 percent were binge drinkers and 2.3 million or 6.2 percent were heavy drinkers.[lxviii]

Approximately one fifth (22.9 percent) of persons aged 12 or older participated in binge drinking at least once in the 30 days prior to an alcohol use survey.[lxix]

Binge drinking has been defined as at least five drinks in a row for men and four drinks in a row for women.[lxx]

Teenagers are not well informed about alcohol's effects.  Nearly one-third of teens mistakenly believe that a 12-ounce can of beer contains less alcohol than a standard shot of distilled sprits. [lxxi]

It is estimated that at least 2/3 of alcohol outlets sell to underage purchasers without asking for identification.[lxxii]

In fiscal 2000, $71.1 million was targeted at preventing underage alcohol use by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Transportation.  In contrast, the fiscal 2000 federal budget authority for drug abuse prevention was 25 times higher – $1.8 billion.[lxxiii]

Over 94 percent of twelfth graders, 83 percent of tenth graders, and 63 percent of eighth graders report that alcohol is “very easy” or “fairly easy” to get.[lxxiv]

The average age of first alcohol use has generally decreased since 1965, indicating that youth are starting to drink at younger ages.[lxxv]

By ages 19 and 20, 70 percent of all drinkers engage in heavy drinking, suggesting that the majority of young people are at great risk of making poor decisions that have significant long-term consequences.[lxxvi]

About 91 percent of all drinks consumed by teenagers are consumed by those who drink heavily.[lxxvii]

Alcohol has been tried by 46 percent of eighth graders, 66 percent of tenth graders, 77 percent of twelfth graders, and 86 percent of college students; active use is also widespread.

 [lxxviii]

Twelve percent of eighth graders, 22 percent of tenth graders, 28 percent of twelfth graders and 39 percent of college student drank heavily (over five drinks in one sitting) in the two weeks preceding a national alcohol survey.

 [lxxix]

Forty-six percent of eighth graders have tried alcohol and 20 percent of eighth graders have been drunk at least once. [lxxx]

Only 31 percent of parents of 15- to 16-year-olds believe their child had a drink in the past year, compared to the 60 percent of teens in that age group who reported drinking.[lxxxi]

Thirty-three percent of 6th to 12th graders said their parents never, seldom, or sometimes set clear rules for them and almost half said their parents never, seldom, or sometimes discipline them when they break the rules.[lxxxii]

Over 6000 people died in 2002 from underage-drinking-related causes (alcohol-related traffic fatalities, homicides, suicides, and other unintentional injuries).  Over 2200 of these were alcohol-related traffic fatalities.[lxxxiii]

High school binge drinking is a major predictor of binge drinking in college.[lxxxiv]

The total cost attributable to the consequences of underage drinking was more than $53 billion per year in 1998 dollars.[lxxxv]

More than 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 13 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives.[lxxxvi]

An early age of drinking onset is associated with alcohol-related violence not only among persons under age 21 but among adults as well.[lxxxvii]

People who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who wait until age 21.  Each additional year of delayed drinking onset reduces the probability of alcohol dependence by 14 percent.[lxxxviii]

High school students who use alcohol or other substances are five times more likely than other students to drop out of school or to believe that earning good grades is not important.[lxxxix]

People who begin drinking before age 14 are three times more likely than those who began drinking after age 21 to report ever driving after drinking too much and four times more likely to report doing so in the past year.[xc]

People who begin drinking before age 14 are seven times more likely than those who began drinking after age 21 to report being in a motor vehicle crash because of their drinking.[xci]

Those who have their first drink prior to age 19 are significantly more likely to become alcohol dependent, to drive after drinking, and to sustain injuries that required medical attention than those who did not drink before age 19.  Those who first drank at younger ages believe they could consume more drinks and still drive safely and legally.[xcii]

Parents’ drinking behavior and favorable attitudes about drinking have been positively associated with adolescents’ initiating and continuing drinking.[xciii]

In 2001, 41 percent of frequent binge drinkers had unplanned sex and 21 percent had unsafe sex as a result of their drinking in the past year.[xciv]

In 1996, underage drinking led to an estimated 3,500 deaths, 2 million nonfatal injuries, 1,200 cases of fetal alcohol syndrome, and 57,000 cases of treatment for alcohol dependence.[xcv]

Youth who start drinking before age 15, compared to those who wait until age 21, were 12 times more likely to be unintentionally injured while under the influence of alcohol, 7 times more likely to be in a motor vehicle crash after drinking, and 10 times more likely to have been in a physical fight after drinking.[xcvi]

Among young people, 41 percent of frequent heavy drinkers reported riding with an intoxicated driver, compared with only 14 percent of those who never drank.[xcvii]

In 1999, nearly 40 percent of people under age 21 who were victims of drownings, burns, and falls tested positive for alcohol.  Youth constituted 7 percent of nonfatal and 30 percent of fatal alcohol-related drownings and burns.[xcviii]

Alcohol has been reported to be involved in 36 percent of homicides, 12 percent of male suicides, and 8 percent of female suicides involving people under 21 – a total of about 1,500 homicides and 300 suicides in 2000.[xcix]

Among drinkers, those who had their first drink before the age of 13 were twice as likely to have unplanned sex and more than twice as likely to have unprotected sex.[c]

In 2001, there were approximately 119,500 alcohol-related visits to the emergency department involving people under the age of 21.[ci]

In 2002, approximately 1.6 million children between the ages of 12 and 17 ran away from home and slept on the street.  Of those who ran away, half reported using alcohol in the past year; only one-third of those who did not run away reported using alcohol in the past year.[cii]

A College Alcohol Survey of four colleges indicated that binge-drinking levels are associated with ease of access to alcohol, price, special promotions, and outlet density in college communities.[ciii]

In 2001, approximately 44 percent of college students reported binge drinking, according to a college survey.  This percentage is almost identical to rates in three previous surveys.  [civ]

Students who attended schools with high rates of heavy drinking experienced a greater number of secondhand effects, including disruption of sleep or studies, property damage, and verbal, physical, or sexual violence.[cv]

Each year, drinking by college students, ages 18-24, contributes to an estimated 1,400 student deaths, 500,000 injuries, more than 600,000 assaults, more than 70,000 sexual assaults, 400,000 engaging in unprotected sex, more than 150,000 developing an alcohol-related health problem. In 2000, 2.1 million college students drove a car while under the influence of alcohol.[cvi]

As a result of their drinking, about 25 percent of college students report academic consequences, 11 percent report they have damaged property under the influence of alcohol, and 5 percent are involved with police or campus security.[cvii]

Drinking reduces the number of hours spent studying per day among college students.  Each additional drink per occasion is associated with fifteen minutes less studying per day.[cviii]

Binge drinking is associated with lower grades among college students.  Approximately five drinks per occasion are associated with a GPA lower by half a grade.[cix]

Each additional drink consumed by college students per occasion increased the probability of missing a class by 8 percent and getting behind in school by 5 percent.[cx]

Six percent of college have been diagnosed as alcohol dependent and nearly one-third of students who be given an alcohol abuse diagnosis under psychiatric criteria.  Forty-four percent of students reported at least one symptom of either abuse or dependence.[cxi]

Access to an unlimited amount of alcohol for a flat fee increases the number of drinks in a sitting by 1.6 drinks on average.[cxii]

One out of every four college students who drink report having forgotten where they were or what they did while drinking during the school year.  The incidence of blackout was doubled (54 percent) among frequent binge drinkers.[cxiii]

In 2001, 23 percent of underage college students obtained alcohol from a parent or relative, up from 17 percent in 1993.[cxiv]

Over two out of every five of all college students are binge drinkers. [cxv]^,[cxvi]

Four in every five college students drink and about half of these engage in heavy drinking.[cxvii]

Self-reported heavy drinking by college students has remained at approximately 44 percent for the past decade.[cxviii]

Nearly half (48 percent) of all of the alcohol consumed by students attending 4-year colleges is consumed by underage students.[cxix]

All states and the District of Columbia have 21-year-old minimum drinking age laws. NHTSA estimates that these laws have reduced traffic fatalities involving drivers 18 to 20 years old by 13 percent and have saved an estimated 21,887 lives since 1975 (through 2002). In 2002, an estimated 917 lives were saved by minimum drinking age laws.[cxx]

In 2003, 21 percent of the children under 15 years old who were killed in motor vehicle crashes were killed in alcohol-related crashes.[cxxi]

Of the children 0-14 years old who were killed in alcohol-related crashes during 2003, 47 percent (209) were passengers in vehicles with drivers who had been drinking.[cxxii]

Between 1985 and 1996, there were 5,555 child passenger deaths involving a drinking driver. Of these deaths, 3,556 or 64 percent occurred while the child was riding with a drinking driver.[cxxiii]

It has become clear over recent years that alcohol impacts both behavior and brain function differently in adolescents and adults.  Adolescents are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of alcohol on learning and memory.[cxxiv]

The brain does not finish developing until a person is around 20 years old, and one of the last regions to mature is intimately involved with the ability to plan and make complex judgments.[cxxv]^{,[cxxvi],[cxxvii]}

Alcohol may encourage aggression by disrupting normal brain mechanisms that normally restrain impulsive behavior such as aggression.[cxxviii]

Alcohol affects all parts of the brain, which also affects the heart rate, coordination, speech, and destruction of brain cells.[cxxix]

Heavy drinking over many years may result in serious mental disorders or permanent, irreversible damage to the brain or peripheral nervous system.[cxxx]

Alcohol dilutes itself in the water volume of the body in order to travel through the system.  Those vital organs, like the brain, that contain a lot of water and need an ample blood supply are particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol.[cxxxi]

In 2003, 34 percent of all traffic fatalities occurred in crashes in which at least one driver or nonoccupant had a BAC of 0.08 g/dl or greater.[cxxxii]

Fatally injured drivers with BAC levels of 0.08 g/dl or greater were 9 times as likely to have a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated compared to fatally injured sober drivers.[cxxxiii]

Nationwide in 2003, a total of 17,616 fatally injured drivers had known BAC test results out of a total of 26,640, or 66 percent. For surviving drivers, BAC test results were known on 7,705 out of 31,516 drivers, or 24 percent. Overall in 2003, FARS received BAC test results on a total of 25,321 drivers out of 58,156 involved in fatal crashes, or 44 percent.[cxxxiv]

In 2003, of the 17,013 total alcohol-related fatalities, 14,630 had BACs of 0.08 or over.  BACs of 0.01 to 0.079 accounted for 2,383 fatalities.[cxxxv]

At BACs as low as 0.02 percent, alcohol affects driving ability and crash likelihood. The probability of a crash begins to increase significantly at 0.05 percent BAC and climbs rapidly after about 0.08 percent.[cxxxvi]

For drivers age 35 and older with BACs at or above 0.15 percent on weekend nights, the likelihood of being killed in a single-vehicle crash is more than 380 times higher than it is for non-drinking drivers.[cxxxvii]

Over four out of five (83 percent) persons of driving age have heard of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels, but only 27 percent can correctly identify the illegal BAC limit for their state.[cxxxviii]

There is considerable evidence that laws that lower the illegal BAC limit from .10 to .08 can reduce alcohol-related fatalities by an average of seven percent.[cxxxix]

The risk of a driver being killed in a crash at .08 BAC is at least 11 times that of drivers without alcohol in their system. At .10 BAC the risk is at least 29 times higher.[cxl]

Virtually all drivers, even experienced drinkers, are significantly impaired at .08 BAC. The results of nearly 300 studies reviewed have shown that, at .08 BAC, virtually all drivers are impaired, which includes critical driving tasks such as divided attention, complex relation time, steering, lane changing, and judgment.[cxli]

The latest research shows that .08 laws not only reduce the incidence of impaired driving at lower BACs, they also reduce the incidence of impaired driving at higher BAC levels (i.e.,  0.15% BAC or higher).[cxlii]

Alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost the public an estimated $114.3 billion in 2000, including $51.1 billion in monetary costs and an estimated $63.2 billion in quality of life losses. People other than the drinking driver paid $71.6 billion of the alcohol-related crash bill, which is 63 percent of the total cost of these crashes.[cxliii]

In 2000, the average alcohol-related fatality in the United States cost $3.5 million.  The estimated cost per injured survivor was $99,000.[cxliv]

In 2000, alcohol-related crashes accounted for an estimated 18 percent of the $103 billion in U.S. auto insurance payments. Reducing alcohol-related crashes by 10 percent would save $1.8 billion in claims payments and loss adjustment expenses.[cxlv]

The societal costs of alcohol-related crashes in the United States averaged $1.00 per drink consumed. People other than the drinking driver paid $0.60 per drink.[cxlvi]

Studies have consistently found that the societal savings from checkpoints significantly outweigh the initial investment.  One study found that there was an average cost savings of $50,000 per checkpoint, including over $3,000 in medical costs.[cxlvii]  Another found a $6 benefit for every $1 invested.[cxlviii]

^,[cxlix] A third found a $23 benefit for every $1 invested.[cl]

Costs for people involved in crashes who were not wearing safety belts were 55 percent higher than those who were.[cli]  Up to 85 percent of these costs are borne by society, not the individual involved in the crash.[clii]  This is why the financial benefits of upgrading to a primary belt law are 16 times greater than the costs.[cliii]

Financially, .08 BAC laws are estimated to save 14 times what they cost to implement.[cliv]

Financially, zero tolerance laws are estimated to save 22 times what they cost to implement.[clv]

Mandatory server training saves about $200 per driver in medical, non-medical and quality of life costs, but costs only $59 per driver – a savings of more than three to one.

 [clvi]

The annual employer cost of motor vehicle crashes in which at least one driver was impaired by alcohol exceeds $9 billion.[clvii]

About one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol are repeat offenders.[clviii]

The risk of a driver who has one or more DWI convictions becoming involved in a fatal crash is about 1.4 times the risk of a driver with no DWI conviction.[clix]

Male drivers involved in fatal crashes were twice as likely to have been intoxicated (24 percent) – that is, .08 BAC or greater – than female drivers (12 percent).[clx]

Men are more likely than women to be driving at the time of a fatal crash.[clxi]

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Hispanics ages 1-44, and the third leading cause of death for all ages surpassed only by heart disease and cancer.[clxii]

The Hispanic population has increased by 57.9 percent in just ten years (1990-2000), much faster than the U. S. population as a whole.  This rapid population growth means that Hispanics will consti