The Sobering Truth About Drinking and Driving

Often, mere numbers fail to convey the true loss which is being quantified. Like the number of U.S. Soldiers and Marines who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or like the number of our fellow citizens who are killed every year in Pennsylvania alcohol-related car accidents, truck accidents, and motorcycle accidents.

The following numbers were prepared by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In 2008, nearly 40% of all Pennsylvania fatal car accidents involved alcohol. Pennsylvania drunk driving statistics are a sobering reminder of the human tragedy created by the deadly mix of alcohol and driving.

Alcohol-related deaths in the US since 1982:

	Total fatalities	Alcohol-related fatalities

Year	Number	Number	Percent
1982	43,945	26,173	60
1983	42,589	24,635	58
1984	44,257	24,762	56
1985	43,825	23,167	53
1986	46,087	25,017	54
1987	46,390	24,094	52
1988	47,087	23,833	51
1989	45,582	22,424	49
1990	44,599	22,587	51
1991	41,508	20,159	49
1992	39,250	18,290	47
1993	40,150	17,908	45
1994	40,716	17,308	43
1995	41,817	17,732	42
1996	42,065	17,749	42
1997	42,013	16,711	40
1998	41,501	16,673	40
1999	41,717	16,572	40
2000	41,945	17,380	41
2001	42,196	17,400	41
2002	43,005	17,524	41
2003	42,643	17,013	40
2004	42,518	16,919	39
2005	43,443	16,885	39
2006	42,532	15,829	37
2007	41,059	15,387	37
2008	37,261	13,846	37

Drinking and driving fatalities by state in 2008 (ranked by highest number of
alcohol-related* deaths):

State	Total Fatalities	Alcohol-Related Fatalities
State	Total Fatalities	Number	Percent
Texas	3,382	1,463	43
California	3,434	1,198	35
Florida	2,978	1,041	35
Pennsylvania	1,468	578	39
North Carolina	1,433	500	35
Georgia	1,493	489	33
South Carolina	920	463	50
Illinois	1,043	434	42
Ohio	1,190	415	35
New York	1,231	409	33
Louisiana	912	404	44
Tennessee	1,035	386	37
Alabama	966	367	38
Virginia	824	365	44
Missouri	960	364	38
Michigan	980	331	34
Arizona	937	329	35
Mississippi	783	297	38
Oklahoma	749	274	37
Indiana	814	250	31
Wisconsin	605	250	41
Kentucky	826	226	27
Washington	521	225	43
Arkansas	600	205	34
Colorado	548	202	37
New Jersey	590	197	33
Maryland	591	186	31
Minnesota	456	161	35
Oregon	416	159	38
Kansas	385	157	41
Massachusetts	363	151	42
West Virginia	380	142	37
Nevada	324	121	37
New Mexico	366	118	32
Iowa	412	113	27
Connecticut	264	104	40
Montana	229	103	45
Idaho	232	93	40
Nebraska	208	75	36
Wyoming	159	75	47
Utah	275	55	20
New Hampshire	139	53	38
North Dakota	104	52	50
Hawaii	107	50	46
Delaware	121	49	40
Maine	155	47	30
South Dakota	119	41	34
Rhode Island	65	29	45
Alaska	62	24	38
Vermont	73	15	21
Dist of Columbia	34	13	39
National	37,261	13,846	37
Puerto Rico	399	162	41

The table below shows
alcohol-impaired** motor vehicle fatalities in the US for 2008.

State	Total Fatalities*	BAC=.08+
	Number	Number	Percent
Texas	3,382	1,269	38
California	3,434	1,029	30
Florida	2,978	875	29
Pennsylvania	1,468	496	34
North Carolina	1,433	423	30
Georgia	1,493	416	28
South Carolina	920	403	44
Illinois	1,043	362	35
Ohio	1,190	356	30
New York	1,231	341	28
Louisiana	912	338	37
Tennessee	1,035	327	32
Alabama	966	315	33
Virginia	824	294	36
Missouri	960	310	32
Michigan	980	282	29
Arizona	937	266	28
Mississippi	783	266	34
Oklahoma	749	244	33
Indiana	814	208	26
Wisconsin	605	208	34
Kentucky	826	200	24
Washington	521	182	35
Arkansas	600	171	28
Colorado	548	173	32
New Jersey	590	154	26
Maryland	591	152	26
Minnesota	456	135	30
Oregon	416	136	33
Kansas	385	145	38
Massachusetts	363	124	34
West Virginia	380	128	34
Nevada	324	107	33
New Mexico	366	105	29
Iowa	412	89	22
Connecticut	264	86	32
Montana	229	91	40
Idaho	232	78	34
Nebraska	208	55	27
Wyoming	159	67	42
Utah	275	46	17
New Hampshire	139	45	32
North Dakota	104	47	46
Hawaii	107	42	39
Delaware	121	45	37
Maine	155	43	28
South Dakota	119	34	29
Rhode Island	65	25	38
Alaska	62	21	33
Vermont	73	12	16
Dist of Columbia	34	9	26
National	37,261	11,773	32
Puerto Rico	399	132	33

At Purchase, George & Murphey, P.C., we are Erie wrongful death lawyers who know that your loss cannot be measured by just a number. To schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced Erie injury lawyers, call today toll free at 814-273-2010 or fill out the online form.