DUI Statistics: California and Los Angeles Top the Country for DUI Arrests and Deaths

Charged with a DUI? Call 310-935-3100 to get help from former LA prosecutor Attorney Hart J. Levin. Levin specializes in helping clients charged with DUI in Los Angeles. He has handled over 6,000 DUIs in his long career as a defense attorney. 

Consider the following shocking facts on DUI in the United States:

  • According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), every day about 28 people in the United States are killed by a drunk driver – that’s one person every 52 minutes. 
  • In 2019, 120,262 drivers in the United States were arrested for DUI
  • About one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of drunk driving are repeat offenders. 
  • On average, two out of three people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime. 
  • Roughly every two minutes, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash. 
  • Over 1.1 million drivers were arrested in 2014 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. 
  • The majority of DUI deaths are alcohol-impaired drivers (63%)
  • The average alcohol level for DUI arrests, known as the Blood Alcohol Level (BAC), is .16—double the legal limit
  • Passengers riding with DUI drivers made up another 13% of alcohol related fatalities
  • Occupants of other vehicles hit by DUI drivers comprise another 14% of DUI deaths
  • Pedestrians, bicyclists and others not in vehicles make up another 10% of those killed by DUI drivers
  • The average age of a person arrested for DUI is 31 years old

California law enforcement cracking down on DUI

California has one of the highest DUI death rates of any state in the country. Southern California, including Los Angeles county, is particularly infamous for drinking and driving incidents. Given the potentially deadly consequences of driving while intoxicated, California law enforcement is cracking down on driving under the influence. A single arrest for DUI can have very serious consequences on your life. 

A “driving under the influence” (DUI) conviction can result in costly fines, drastically increased car insurance rates, mandatory alcohol education classes, loss of driving privileges, a breathalyzer (IDD) being installed in your vehicle, and in some cases, jail time or prison. 

Los Angeles/California DWI Statistics

  • In California alone, there were 9,288 drunk driving fatal accidents from 2009-2018
  • There were 949 lives lost in California in 2019 as a result of driving under the influence 
  • Los Angeles County DUI cases represent the majority of all DUI cases in California, accounting for more than 20% of the total drunk driving cases in California each year  
  • The number of DUI arrests in California peaked around 2008 with approximately 230,000 arrests that year
  • The number of DUI arrests has declined every year since 2008 with ride-sharing a likely factor in reducing the arrests
  • By the year 2017, DUI arrests were down by almost half from their peak levels
  • Southern California, which includes Orange County, San Diego County, and Los Angeles County, make up almost half of the DUI arrests in California
  •  About 73% of DUI arrests in California result in a conviction. 

Alcohol remains most common, but marijuana, cocaine and other drugs can be just as dangerous for drivers

  • The drug showing the greatest increase among drivers from 2007 to 2013/2014 was marijuana (THC). 
  • The percentage of THC-positive drivers increased from 8.6% in 2007 to 12.6% in 2013/2014, an increase of 47%
  • Almost 7% of drivers, mostly under age 35, who were involved in fatal traffic crashes tested positive for marijuana
  • 13% of nighttime and weekend drivers have marijuana in their system
  • Marijuana users were about 25% more likely to be involved in a crash than users with no evidence of marijuana use
  • Drugs other than alcohol, such as marijuana and cocaine, are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle fatal driver acaccidents
  • More than 22% of drivers tested positive for illegal, prescription, or over-the-counter drugs in blood and/or fluid tests

Common risk factors for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)

Gender statistics: men drive under the influence at a much higher rate than women

  • In 2017, there were four male alcohol-impaired drivers involved in crashes for every female alcohol-impaired driver (8022 vs. 1944
  • Men account for nearly 80% of all DUI arrests 
  • However, women generally have less body water than men of similar body weight, so women’s BAC is generally higher after drinking equivalent amounts of alcohol 

Time of day with highest risk for DUI

  •  Drunk driving involvement in fatal crashes in 2017 was almost four times higher at night than during the day (32% vs. 9%)
  • Peak hours for DUI are between midnight and 3 a.m. 

Days of the year with the highest rate of drunk driving fatalities

  • New Year’s Day is the most deadly day of the year for drunk driving crashes
  • 47% of men and 40% of women binge drink on New Year’s Eve, according to alcohol.org
  • The summer season comprises 29% of driving-related fatalities
  • Driving on July 4th brings a 100% increased risk for a deadly DUI accident
  • Thanksgiving is close behind, with a 77% increased risk
  • Memorial Day is the second most deadly weekend

Drivers with a prior driving while impaired (DWI) record are more likely to die or kill others

  •  Drivers with a BAC of 0.08% or higher involved in fatal crashes 4.5 times more likely to have a prior conviction for DWI than drivers with no alcohol in their system (9% and 2%, respectively)
  • According to the FBI, the average drunk driver has driven drunk more than 80 times before their first arrest 

Young people are at greater risk

  • In California alone, there were 99 drunk driving deaths among DUI drivers under the age of 21
  • At all levels of Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC), the risk of being involved in a crash is greater for younger people than for older people
  • Among drivers with BAC levels of 0.08% or higher involved in fatal crashes in 2016, nearly three in ten were between 25 and 34 years of age (27%). The next two largest groups were ages 21 to 24 (26%) and 35 to 44 (22%).
  • The rate of drunk driving is highest among 26 to 29 year olds (20.7%)
  • In fatal crashes in 2017, the highest percentage of drunk drivers was for drivers ages 21 to 24 (27%), followed by ages 25 to 34 (26%) and 35 to 44 (23%).
  • In 2019, as many as 5% of teen high school students reported drinking and driving at least once in a month
  • 82% of teen drunk drivers had alcohol in their systems of 0.08 g/dL or higher 

Motorcyclists and alcohol-related deaths

  • Among motorcyclists killed in fatal alcohol-related crashes in 2016, 25% had a BAC 0.08% or greater
  • Motorcyclists aged 35 – 39 have the highest percentage of deaths with BACs of 0.08% or greater (38% in 2016)

Amount of alcohol (BAC) or drugs intoxicants in the blood is a major risk factor

  • The amount of alcohol or drugs present in the blood is of course one of the major most significant risks in DUI fatal motor vehicle crashes
  • Women metabolize alcohol more slowly than men
  • Impairment is not determined by the type of drink, but by the amount of alcohol drunk over time
  • Mixing alcohol and drugs together is even more dangerous

Facts on how many drinks it takes to be legally intoxicated

The amount of drinks it takes to be legally intoxicated depends on factors such as gender and body weight. A woman under 140 pounds may become intoxicated with as few as two drinks per hour. Women up to 200 pounds may become inebriated with 3 drinks per hour.  At 100 pounds, a man would have a BAC of 0.12 (50% over the legal limit) by drinking 3 drinks in less than an hour or 4 drinks over two hours. For 160 pound man, anywhere from 1 to 3 drinks is the limit to keep BAC in the legal range. 

A standard drink is equal to 14 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol. Generally, this amount of alcohol is found in:

  • 12 ounces of beer (5% alcohol content)
  • 8 ounces of malt liquor (7% alcohol content)
  • 5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol content)
  • 1.5 ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof (40% alcohol content) distilled spirits like gin, rum, vodka or whiskey

Resources & References

  1. “The Economic and Societal Impact Of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2010.” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, May 2014, DOT HS 812 013. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812013.pdf

  2. http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUHresultsPDFWHTML2013/Web/NSDUHresults2013.pdf

  3. Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Crime in the United States: 2014″

  4. https://www.responsibility.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2019-State-of-Drunk-Driving-Fatalities.pdf

  5. NHTSA 2013-2014 Roadside Survey

  6. https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html

  7. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812630

  8. https://www.teendriversource.org/teen-crash-risks-prevention/rules-of-the-road/impaired-driving

  9. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “Q&A: Alcohol: General.” Arlington, VA: National Highway Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, March 2012

  10. https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/table-29

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