Alcohol & drugs

Fatality Facts: Alcohol

Q&As

Alcohol: general

Administrative license suspension

Alcohol deterrence & enforcement

Teenagers: underage drinking

State laws

How state laws measure up

DUI/DWI laws

State court decisions on the constitutionality of sobriety checkpoints

Consumer video available for purchase

Sober thoughts on drinking and driving — People are becoming more responsible about how they use alcohol in relation to driving. Still, there's plenty of alcohol-impaired driving left. Too many people are dying. This video focuses on a range of effective measures to reduce the problem.

Research papers

Effects of 21 minimum legal drinking age laws on alcohol-related driving in the United States; Anne T. McCartt, Laurie A. Hellinga, and Bevan B. Kirley, December 2008

Effects of a college community campaign on drinking and driving with a strong enforcement component; Anne T. McCartt, Laurie A. Hellinga, and JoAnn K. Wells, September 2008

Contribution of alcohol-impaired driving to motor vehicle crash deaths in 2005; Adrian K. Lund, Anne T. McCartt, Charles M. Farmer, August 2007

Selected research bibliography

Highlights from the Institute's research since 1969

Presentation

October 9, 2007 Protecting teens from the dangers of alcohol use and abuse: wishful thinking versus science; convened by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, American Medical Association, National Transportation Safety Board, and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to support 21 minimum drinking age; presentation by Adrian Lund, IIHS president

News releases

December 20, 2000 Best & worst state traffic safety laws: some states do a better job than others

March 21, 1997 Fewer drinking drivers on the road but alcohol-impaired driving still a problem, new national roadside breath-test survey finds

Research annotated bibliographies

Passive alcohol sensors

Sobriety checkpoints

Status Report newsletter

Vol. 43, No. 11, December 27, 2008: 21 drinking age laws in US states are effective, multiple studies indicate; Changes in drinking age laws; New groups question effectiveness of 21, ignoring decades of research

Vol. 43, No. 6, July 24, 2008: College town alcohol campaign lowers nighttime drinking and driving among target group of teens and young adults

Vol. 42, No. 10, October 13, 2007: Reducing BACs to the legal limit (less than 0.08 percent) could save almost 9,000 lives per year; Another new study quantifies the benefits of reducing BACs

Vol. 42, No. 5, May 12, 2007: Special issue: one day of crashes; the stories of some of the 119 people killed in crashes on June 7, 2005

Vol. 41, No. 9, November 21, 2006: Fatality Facts — no progress is being made against DWI

Vol. 41, No. 7, September 7, 2006: Focusing on hard-core drinking drivers can be counterproductive if other impaired drivers get a pass; Zero tolerance isn't a very effective policy in some states, but Washington is an exception

Vol. 40, No. 7, August 6, 2005: Highway safety update: DWI laws

Vol. 40, No. 4, April 2, 2005: Special issue: alcohol-impaired driving

Vol. 39, No. 7, August 1, 2004: Now all states have 0.08 BAC laws

Vol. 39, No. 6, July 3, 2004: Highway safety update: Minnesota's BAC law

Vol. 39, No. 2, February 7, 2004: Prior violations, including serious ones like DWI, often aren't reflected on public driving records

Vol. 38, No. 9, September 25, 2003: State legislative update: alcohol-impaired driving

Vol. 38, No. 2, February 8, 2003: Deaths involving alcohol-impaired drivers aren't declining anymore; Sobriety checkpoints are effective, international review by CDC finds

Vol. 38, No. 1, January 11, 2003: Many drivers with high BACs who are killed in crashes don't fit profile of a hardcore drinker

Vol. 37, No. 3, March 16, 2002: Some state licensing and DUI/DWI laws have been strengthened, but no safety belt laws have been changed to primary

Vol. 36, No. 6, June 30, 2001: Sobriety checkpoints aren't frequent except in a few states; Awareness of zero tolerance laws is limited among young drivers; Improving detection of impaired drivers is first step to reducing DWI; 0.08 percent blood-alcohol limit for impaired driving reduces crash deaths, federal review concludes

Vol. 35, No. 10, December 20, 2000: Special issue: state traffic safety laws: includes information on DUI/DWI laws

Vol. 35, No. 8, September 30, 2000: Mexican Americans are subjects of new survey on drinking and driving

Vol. 35, No. 3, March 11, 2000: Drivers in four countries perceive differences in DWI law enforcement Provisions of zero tolerance laws vary among US states, and differences affect how the laws are enforced

Vol. 35, No. 1, January 15, 2000: Ignition interlocks are effective as long as they're required

Vol. 34, No. 6, June 19, 1999: Sobriety checkpoints in Tennessee reduce fatal crashes involving drivers with high BACs

Vol. 32, No. 8, October 11, 1997: Benzodiazepines may increase crash risk among elderly drivers

Vol. 32, No. 5, May 10, 1997: Ignition interlocks deter repeat alcohol driving law violators

Vol. 32, No. 3, March 22, 1997: Alcohol-impaired driving still a problem in United States; Administrative license suspension doesn't affect employment