Drinking and Driving Trips, Stops by the Police, and Arrests: Analyses of the 1995 Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behaviors

Zador, Paul; Krawchuk, Sheila; Moore, Brent · 2001 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report analyzes data from the 1995 National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behavior (NSDDAB) to assess the prevalence of self-reported drinking and driving and to estimate associated arrest rates. The study was motivated by the need to quantify alcohol-impaired driving behaviors using two distinct definitions: driving within two hours of consuming alcohol and driving while over the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit. Additionally, the authors sought to evaluate the effectiveness of law enforcement by comparing self-reported arrest rates with official FBI crime statistics. The methodology combined survey data from 4,008 noninstitutional persons aged 16 and older with FBI arrest records. To estimate driver BACs for the most recent drinking-driving episode, researchers utilized the Quantity-Frequency-Variability (QFV) Index to classify respondents as light, moderate, or heavy drinkers. They combined this classification with self-reported body weight, alcohol consumption, and time elapsed since drinking began, using NHTSA’s BAC Estimator software. Missing data were imputed based on demographic averages, and 30-day recall data were annualized to ensure consistency with 12-month reports. The results indicated that in 1995, 21.9% of the U.S. population aged 16 and over reported 791 million trips within two hours of drinking, while 90 million trips occurred above the legal BAC limit. Males accounted for 81% of all drinking-driving episodes. Episode rates for driving within two hours of drinking were highest among men aged 55 and older, though their average BACs were low. Conversely, rates for driving over the legal limit, police stops, and arrests peaked among males aged 18–20. Non-Hispanic White males reported the highest rates of drinking and driving, whereas Hispanic males faced the highest arrest rates. On average, there was one arrest for every 772 episodes of driving within two hours of drinking and one arrest for every 88 episodes of driving over the legal limit. Comparison with FBI data revealed that males aged 16–17 significantly over-reported arrests, while those aged 55 and older under-reported them. The study concludes that while alcohol-impaired driving is relatively uncommon compared to total driving volume, the absolute number of impaired trips remains substantial. The low arrest rate—approximately 1.1% for trips over the legal limit—suggests that enforcement levels in 1995 were insufficient to deter drivers who perceived themselves as impaired. The findings highlight a disparity between the high prevalence of drinking and driving and the low probability of apprehension, indicating that increasing the perceived likelihood of arrest is necessary to further reduce alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

Key finding

There was one arrest for every 772 episodes of driving within two hours of drinking and one arrest for every 88 episodes of driving over the legal limit.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 4008

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• dui enforcement
• alcohol
• drowsy as impairment
• sex gender
• incidence prevalence

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence