This Halloween, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is helping to keep the local community safe by spreading the message that Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving. If you plan to enjoy some witch’s brew, be sure to plan for a sober ride home. Read these scary stats and commit to sober driving today.
- During Halloween night (6 p.m. October 31 to 5:59 a.m. November 1) during the years 2017-2021, there were 159 people killed in drunk-driving crashes.
- In 2021, 38 people were killed on Halloween night in drunk-driving crashes, a decrease from the 58 people killed on Halloween night in 2020.
- Adults between the ages of 21 and 34 had the highest percentage (55%) of fatalities in drunk-driving crashes on Halloween night in 2021.
- Approximately one-third of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers (with BACs at or above .08 g/dL). In 2021, there were 13,384 people killed in drunk-driving crashes.
- Nationally, it is illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 g/dL or higher, except in Utah, where the limit is .05 g/dL.
- Although it’s illegal to drive when impaired by alcohol, in 2021 one person was killed every 39 minutes in a drunk-driving crash on our nation’s roads.
- The rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2021 was 2.8 times higher at night than during the day.
- Males are more likely than females to be driving drunk when involved in fatal crashes. In 2021, 22% of males were drunk, compared to 17% of females.
Remember: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving. For more information, visit
www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/get-materials/drunk-driving/buzzed-driving-drunk-driving/halloween.
