Drunk driving fatalities involving a driver with a Blood Alcohol Concentration above .08 (the legal limit in all 50 states) declined almost five percent between 2009 and 2010 – from 10,759 in 2009 to 10,228 in 2010. Drunk driving fatalities were 31% of all of all auto-related deaths in 2010, down from 33% in 2009.

What's significant about this is that drunk driving deaths are far outpacing the decline in auto-related deaths. More than anything else, this tells us that our efforts are working.

In 2010, the rate of drunk driving fatalities per 100,000 population was 3.3, representing a 64% decrease since 1982 and 48% since the inception of The Century Council in 1991. This means that for every 100,000 people in the US in 2010, slightly more than three people were killed in a drunk driving fatal crash, a rate that has been cut almost in half over the past two decades – down 48% from 6.3 in 1991.

Since recordkeeping began in 1982, drunk driving fatalities have been cut in half – since our inception in 1991, they’ve fallen 35%. Our work over the past 20 years has produced results – and that’s why this is no time to let up in our efforts. We remain committed to fighting drunk driving.