In 2018 Drunk Driving Deaths Decreased for Third Year in a Row
Today the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the latest available traffic fatality statistics for 2018 which showed a decline in the overall number of people killed on our nation’s roadways, and for the third straight year, a decrease in drunk driving deaths. In 2018, 10,511 people were killed in a drunk driving crash accounting for 29 percent of the total traffic fatalities. For the second year in a row, the proportion of drunk driving fatalities is the lowest recorded since record keeping began in 1982.
From 2017 to 2018, NHTSA reported a 2.4 percent decrease in traffic deaths and a 3.6 percent decrease in drunk driving deaths. Over the past decade drunk driving fatalities fell two percent from 10,759 in 2009 according to the latest statistics. Since Responsibility.org’s inception, alcohol impaired driving fatalities have declined 34 percent since 1991 and 50 percent since record keeping began in 1982. In 2018, the proportion of drunk driving fatalities in 28 states and DC were below the national threshold, and from 2017 to 2018 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities decreased in 33 states and DC.
Responsibility.org has transformed countless lives through programs that have contributed to historic low levels in drunk driving and underage drinking. Leading the fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking – two of society’s top safety concerns – Responsibility.org offers proven strategies to stop impaired driving. We are encouraged by the progress reported by NHTSA today but there is still more work to be done to keep our roads free from drunk drivers.
