US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced the latest national drunk driving-related death statistics. Peters noted that while the number of total DUI deaths has dropped significantly in 32 US states, half of the states experienced an increase in drunk driving-related motorcycle fatalities.
Overall, almost 13,000 people died in accidents involving motorists with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or more—a drop from the almost 13,500 DUI victims that died in 2006. Peters noted that 1,621 motorcyclists that died in alcohol-related collisions last year—a 7.5% increase from the year prior.
Of the 12,998 drunk driver-related deaths that occurred last year:
• 7,283 of the victims where drunk drivers.
• 2,067 victims were riding with the drunk driver.
• 1,361 fatalities were motorcyclists that were intoxicated.
• 81 of the deaths were passengers of intoxicated motorcyclists.
• 1,431 victims were occupants of other motor vehicles.
The state that experienced the greatest drop in alcohol-related deaths was California, with 1,155 alcohol-impaired deaths in 2007 compared to the 1,272 fatalities in 2006.
States that experienced an increase in drunk driver-related deaths in 2007 included North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Alabama, Maine, Montana, Alaska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Delaware, North Dakota, West Virginia, Minnesota, Virginia, Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
The number of drunk-driving deaths in Maryland for 2007 was 179.
DUI Fatalities Down Nationwide and in 32 States, Says U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, NHTSA, August 28, 2008
2007 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment – Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities (PDF)
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