How many accidents are caused by drinking and driving?
About 1,350 people die each year in Canada in motor vehicle crashes involving a drinking driver, and many more are seriously injured or disabled. In 2004, police reported about 79,000 impaired driving incidents. Between 1994 and 2004, the number of people charged with an impaired driving offence, per 100,000 population decreased 33.5%. Source: Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2005). During 2003, 3,124 people died in motor vehicle collisions. Of the fatally injured drivers who were tested, 38.3 had positive blood alcohol concentrations (BACs). This constitutes a 8.3% increase from 1999. Twenty-six percent of these drivers had BACs of between .081% and .16%, and 57% had BACs over .16%. Of the fatally injured motorcycle drivers, who were tested, 28.6% had positive BACs and of these almost 71% had BACs of over .08%. Males accounted for 86.8% of the alcohol-positive, fatally injured drivers and 85.8% of fatally injured driver
