Is it true that most drinking and driving incidents are caused by repeat offenders?
No. Of the 1.5 million drivers arrested for driving under the influence in 1997, two-thirds (1 million) were considered first-time offenders. • Is it really the drinking that causes the fatal crash? This can be difficult to isolate as the sole cause. It’s pretty clear that drinking plays a significant part in many fatal crashes. However, 42 percent of intoxicated drivers involved in fatal crashes were also speeding. It’s unclear whether they would have been speeding if they had not been drinking, or whether speeding and drinking and driving – both risk-taking behaviors – were part of their general lifestyle pattern. • How about drugs and driving? A person does not have to be drinking to be arrested for driving under the influence. Drivers can be arrested for DUI with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.00 percent if there is proof that the impairment is due to drug use. Driving after using drugs appears to be more common among young drivers (13 percent for those 16-20 years old) than ol
