Drunk Driving Deaths Increase

May 2007

Drivers beware – the rate of deaths from alcohol-related car accidents is on the rise. As the number deaths and injuries from non-alcohol-related crashes dropped in the United States in 2006, the number of people who died from a car crash involving a drunk driver climbed to the highest level since 1992.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported favorable statistics for accidents not involving alcohol. Deaths dropped by 143 people, while injuries took a strong downward turn, dropping by about 200,000 people from 2005 to 2006.

But as other fatalities and injuries decreased, deaths from crashes involving at least one driver over the legal blood alcohol limit rose 2.8 percent in 2006. The number of people dead from a drunk driving accident hit 13,990, the highest rate of alcohol-related auto deaths in nearly a decade and a half.