California DUI Deaths, Injuries, Arrests and Repeats Down

This is an encouraging report. Maybe California will be the leader (as we are in so many areas) that can reverse the national trend of rising D.U.I./D.W.I. stats.

THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE CALIFORNIA DMV.

March 31, 1997

DUI Deaths, Injuries, Arrests and Repeats Continue to Drop

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Deaths from alcohol related accidents fell again in 1995, as did injuries, DUI arrests and repeat offenses, according to an annual report to the legislature issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

"The report reflects an unprecedented change in public behavior that saves hundreds of lives yearly," said Department of Motor Vehicles Director Sally Reed. "This is the sixth straight year the numbers have declined," she added.

She said the change was brought about by public pressure, tough new laws, strong law enforcement efforts and public education campaigns. Alcohol related deaths, which peaked at 2,754 in 1987, fell to less than half that at 1,343 in 1995. Reed said though she was pleased with the improvement, she realizes that each death is a cause for concern.

The survey shows about 90 percent of DUI offenders are male, the average age is 33 years old, and the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) averages almost .17 -- more than twice the legal limit of .08.

The report shows that DUI offenders were less likely to be repeaters than in previous years. In 1989, repeat offenders accounted for 37 percent of DUI convictions. That figure dropped to 31 percent in 1994, the last year for which data is complete. Applying the percentages to raw numbers makes the drop more dramatic from about 80,500 repeaters in 1989 to 45,000 in 1994.

In evaluating which sanctions prevent repetition of DUI offenses, the report concludes that those given license restrictions combined with a treatment program do at least 12 percent better than with any other alternative.

The data also shows that jail was the least effective penalty for first offenders. First time offenders sentenced to jail had 20 percent more subsequent DUI incidents than those sentenced to other DUI sanctions. Sanctions evaluated were probation, jail, various alcohol treatment programs, license suspensions by DMV and the courts, and mandatory use of an ignition interlock device.

Approximately 73 percent of all those arrested were convicted of a DUI offense and another 9 percent were convicted of reckless driving involving alcohol.

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