New Report on Estimates of Older Teens Driving Under the Influence

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May 23, 2008

Impaired driving continues to be a severe and persistent threat to public safety, and the number of deaths from traffic crashes involving impaired drivers is higher than the number of deaths from all other causes among persons aged 3 to 33. In 2006, an estimated 30.5 million persons aged 12 or older drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past 12 months (“past year”), and 10.2 million persons aged 12 or older reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs during the past year.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asked persons aged 12 or older if they had driven a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs in the past year. The NSDUH defines illicit drugs to include marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, or prescription-type drugs used nonmedically.

Highlights include the following:

  • Combined data from 2004 to 2006 indicate that 15.1 percent of current drivers aged 18 or older drove under the influence of alcohol in the past 12 months, and 4.7 percent drove under the influence of illicit drugs in the past year.
  • Rates of past-year driving under the influence of alcohol were highest among persons aged 18 or older in Wisconsin (26.4 percent), North Dakota (24.9 percent), Minnesota (23.5 percent), Nebraska (22.9 percent), and South Dakota (21.6 percent).
  • Past-year rates of driving under the influence of illicit drugs among persons aged 18 or older were highest in the District of Columbia (7.0 percent), Rhode Island (6.8 percent), Massachusetts (6.4 percent), Montana (6.3 percent), and Wyoming (6.2 percent).

The NSDUH is an annual survey of approximately 67,500 people conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Office of Applied Studies. The survey collects information from residents of households, residents of noninstitutionalized group quarters, and civilians living on military bases.

For more information, visit the SAMHSA Web site to read the full report or order online (publication number: NSDUH08-0417).