Research & Resources

Despite the seriousness of alcohol-impaired driving, very little data are collected on how frequently people drive after drinking as a means toward gauging its prevalence. This study uses the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions to examine how frequently U.S. adults drive after drinking. They found that 5.7 percent of people self-reported driving after drinking more than once, 3.9 percent self-reported driving after drinking too much, 0.61 percent self-reported accidents while intoxicated, and 0.23 percent reported accidents with injuries. Men and peoples ages 18–29 were the most likely to self-report their own alcohol-impaired driving and its consequences. The article, “Drinking and driving among adults in the United States: Results from the 2012–2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III,” was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. It was published in the journal, Accident Analysis & Prevention.