Yes, We Can Substantially Reduce Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatal Crashes
Author
James C. Fell
Principal Research Scientist
Economics, Justice & Society
Client
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
January 2025
All it takes is the political will to implement effective strategies.
America’s alcohol-impaired driving fatalities are shockingly high.
Since 2009, roughly 10,000 U.S. residents have died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes each year, a fatality rate significantly higher than in European countries, Australia, and Japan. Then, in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 11,654 fatalities in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. There was another increase in 2021, up to 13,617 fatalities, and then a slight decrease in 2022, to 13,524 impaired driving fatalities. Why did this happen?
There were several reasons for this increase, but one factor was the reduction in traffic law enforcement. Driving under the influence (DUI) arrests went down dramatically, as did traffic stops and speeding tickets. Risk-taking drivers took advantage of the scenario.
I’ve spent my career studying impaired driving and traffic safety.
My research has demonstrated the effectiveness of various approaches to reducing impaired driving fatalities. Studies of enforcement programs have shown that specialized DUI teams, like Maryland’s SPIDRE unit, significantly decrease crash rates in their operating areas. Research into public attitudes revealed strong support for sobriety checkpoints, which can reduce impaired driving fatalities by 20 percent.
Evaluations of state policies have produced compelling evidence for legislative action. States requiring alcohol ignition interlocks for all DUI offenders showed 16 percent lower rates of impaired drivers in fatal crashes. A meta-analysis of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits found that lowering the legal threshold from .08 to .05 could save nearly 1,800 lives annually—a projection supported by Utah's experience, where implementing a .05 limit led to a 20 percent reduction in fatal crashes.
Currently, I'm leading a comprehensive National Roadside Survey examining alcohol and drug use among 10,000 drivers across 60 U.S. sites, while also studying strategies to improve drugged driving prosecution rates. This work builds on previous research into monitoring technologies, responsible beverage service programs, and alternative transportation initiatives to reduce impaired driving.
“Studies of enforcement programs have shown that specialized DUI teams significantly decrease crash rates in their operating areas. Research into public attitudes revealed strong support for sobriety checkpoints.”
My experience suggests the following steps will reduce impaired driving crash fatalities.
My 55 years working at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), and NORC at the University of Chicago lead me to believe the steps below can significantly reduce impaired driving fatalities. In order of effectiveness and impact, they are:
- Regular sobriety checkpoints. The single most effective strategy, which would also have an immediate effect on impaired driving fatalities, would be conducting weekly, community-level sobriety checkpoints (or their equivalent). A 20 percent reduction could be realized.
- Lowering the blood alcohol limit. The second most effective countermeasure would be for the states to lower their BAC limit from .08 to .05 g/dL. An additional 11 percent reduction could be realized with this general deterrent measure.
- Mandating alcohol ignition locks for DUI offenders. The third countermeasure that could have a substantial effect would be an alcohol ignition interlock law that mandates the interlock for all convicted DUI offenders (no exceptions). Recidivism would be significantly reduced, and impaired driving fatalities would decrease.
- Passive BAC monitoring technology. The final measure would be a technology in the vehicle that passively measures the driver’s BAC and doesn’t allow the car to drive if the BAC is over the limit. There is currently a technology called the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) that does just that and should be standard in every vehicle in the future.
The DADSS will take more than 20 years to be in a substantial percentage of vehicles, so the other three measures need to be employed in the meantime. How can this be accomplished? All it will take is the political will to implement these measures. The research and the evidence on these measures are compelling.
Related Publications
- State Alcohol Ignition Interlock Laws and Fatal Crashes (Oct 2021)
- Final Report: Underutilized Strategies in Traffic Safety: Results of a Nationally Representative Survey (Feb 2019)
- Estimation of the Potential Effectiveness of Lowering the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Limit for Driving from 0.08 to 0.05 Grams per Deciliter in the United States (Oct 2017)
- Strengthening Impaired-Driving Enforcement in the United States (Aug 2013)
- Underutilized Strategies in Traffic Safety: Results of a Nationally Representative Survey (Sept 2019)
Suggested Citation
Fell, J.C. (2025, January 28). Yes, We Can Substantially Reduce Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatal Crashes. [Web blog post]. NORC at the University of Chicago. Retrieved from https://www.norc.org.
