• In the U.S., 68% of children who died in alcohol-related crashes were riding with drinking drivers; the majority of these children were not restrained.
• Out of the population of persons on whom there is a driving record, 1 in 8 (11.9%) have one or more incidents on record; 1 in 20 (5.1%) have two or more, and 1 in 42 (2.4%) have three or more.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research has found that a person drives impaired will do so 80 times in a year.
• Law enforcement apprehends only one in 2,000 impaired drivers.
• Alcohol-related crashes cost Minnesotans hundreds of millions of dollars every single year.
• There is a positive relationship between alcohol use and crash severity. As the crash severity increases, so does the likelihood of alcohol’s involvement.
• Most alcohol-related crashes occur on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The three days accounted for 43% of all traffic crashes. The three days accounted for 62% of all alcohol-related crashes.
• 10:00 pm to 2:00 am accounted for 11% of all crashes, but 45% of alcohol crashes.
• Three-fourths of the people who died in alcohol-related crashes were themselves the cause of the crash.
• Alcohol-related crashes usually involve only one vehicle: Fixed object (25%) or losing control (33%).
• The most alcohol-related crashes occurred in the summer months. June, July and August take turns having the highest number.
• If a person under age 21 is driving impaired and their BAC is .08 or more, regular DWI laws apply instead of the underage consumption while driving offense. If under .08, underage drinking laws apply.
• Underage drinkers account for nearly 20% (19.7%) of liquor sales in the United States.
• A person who begins drinking under the age of 21 is four times more likely to become a chronic drinker than a person who begins drinking after the age of 21.