A traffic fatality is considered alcohol-related if either the driver or anyone else involved in the police reported crash, other than a passenger (e.g., a pedestrian or bicyclist), has alcohol in their blood stream (a BAC level of .01 or more). For example, a pedestrian with a BAC of .01 who steps off the curb in front of a sober driver and is killed by that driver, this fatality is included in alcohol-related traffic statistics. If a driver who has been drinking hits a car with two sober people in it and kills both, those two fatalities are considered alcohol-related. In producing national and state statistics, NHTSA estimates the extent of alcohol involvement when alcohol test results are unknown.

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According to the government, binge drinking is defined as occasions of heavy drinking measured by the consumption of five or more (for males) and four or more (for females) drinks in a row at least once in the past two weeks.

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BAC is measured in grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. A BAC of .01 indicates .01 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. As of July 2004, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation establishing a driver with a BAC of .08 is considered legally intoxicated. Additionally, 39 states and the District of Columbia have laws and penalties for those who drive with elevated or "high" BAC levels.

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A fatality is considered drinking driver-related if the crash involves at least one driver or motorcycle operator who had a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .01 or above. As part of their focus on impaired driving, NHTSA has begun to estimate the number of people killed in traffic crashes that involve at lease one driver or motorcycle operator with a positive BAC.

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Hardcore drunk drivers drive with a high BAC of .15 or above, do so repeatedly, as demonstrated by having more than one drunk driving arrest, and are highly resistant to changing their behavior despite previous sanctions, treatment or education efforts.

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Five or more drinks on the same occasion on 5 or more days in the past 30 days.

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The rate of alcohol-related traffic fatalities per 100,000 population is the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities for every 100,000 persons in the population being measured. For example, an alcohol-related traffic fatality rate of 5.7 per 100,000 population nationally means that for every 100,000 people in the nation, there were nearly six alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

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According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the federal government's official nutrition policy defines a standard drink of alcohol as 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits, 12 ounces of regular beer or 5 ounces of wine.

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Since 1988, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws that make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase or publicly possess alcoholic beverages. While each state’s law varies and may contain exceptions (e.g., religious ceremonies) it is generally considered illegal for anyone under 21 to consume alcohol. Underage drinking refers to the consumption of beverage alcohol, defined as defined as a can or bottle of beer, a glass of wine or a wine cooler, a shot of liquor, or a mixed drink with liquor in it, by persons 20 years of age and younger.

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Women have less fluid in their bodies than men of the same weight, so there's less water to dilute the alcohol. So with the same amount of alcohol, women will generally feel and experience the effects of alcohol more than men.

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