MenuOn behalf of George Law, posted in drunk driving charges on Wednesday, February 28, 2018.
At George Law, we know a lot about drunk driving. But some of the statistics Michigan Live reported a while back surprised even us.
Here are six (6) Michigan drunk driving facts that you no doubt will find as eye-opening as we did.
1. Drunk drivers cause more crash injuries and fatalities
While only 3.5 percent of Michigan’s traffic accidents in 2014 involved drunk drivers, they accounted for 7 percent of those that resulted in injuries and 36 percent of Michigan’s 806 fatal crashes
2. Drunk driving arrests and convictions dropped in the past decade
Impaired driver arrests and convictions dropped by 16 percent since 2010 and by 35 percent since 2005. On the other hand, we have 13 percent fewer law enforcement officers now than we did in 2005.
3. Approximately 0.5 percent of licensed drivers are convicted of impaired driving
Despite the downturn in DUI arrests and convictions, 35,060 of Michigan’s approximately 7.1 million licensed drivers were arrested for drunk driving in 2014 and 35,368 received convictions. The reason for the number discrepancy is that arrests of some DUI defendants convicted in 2014 occurred in 2013.
4. Men account for 73 percent of Michigan’s DUI arrests and convictions
If you are a man, you know that males tend to accuse females of being the worst drivers. However, just the opposite is true, particularly when it comes to driving while impaired. In 2014, 25,836 male drivers were arrested for DUI as compared to 9,224 female drivers.
5. Male DUI arrest rates dropped faster than female DUI arrest rates
If you are a woman, before you get too gleeful over the above statistic, the flip side is that male DUI arrests dropped 39 percent between 2005 and 2014, while female DUI arrests dropped only 22 percent during the same period.
6. Virtually all Michigan DUI arrests involve alcohol, not drugs
Michigan’s DUI/OWI laws apply to both alcohol and illegal drugs. Based on arrest and conviction data, however, drivers appear to be far more likely to drive under the influence of alcohol than of drugs. In 2014, 96 percent of Michigan’s DUI/OWI arrests were of drivers with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher.
