Arizona DUI Statistics (Compared to Other States)

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is one of the most common infractions across America. In 2015, the country as a whole arrested 1,171,903 people for DUI. The State Justice Department, Federal Highway Administration offers myriad drunk driving statistics.

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How Do DUI Penalties Compare?

Arizona is widely recognized as having some of the harshest DUI penalties in America. But how do these penalties compare to the states with the highest and lowest rates of DUI arrests? The table below assumes it is the driver's first offense on a standard DUI charge, meaning a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher.

State	National Rank DUI Arrests	Mandatory Jail Time	Fines	License Suspension	Ignition Interlocking Device
Wyoming	1	Maximum 6 months	Up to $750	90 Days	No
Arizona	7	Minimum 24 hours	Minimum $250	90-360 Days	Yes
Delaware	50	Maximum 6 months	Minimum $500	12-24 Months	No

Arizona DUI Statistics

In 2018, there were a total of 4,651 alcohol-related car crashes in Arizona, which accounts for 3.66% of all car accidents in the state. Of those accidents, almost 47% of them resulted in injury or death.

Alcohol-Related Fatalities

In 2015, the most recent year for fatality statistics, 10,265 people lost their lives in automobile accidents in which at least one driver was alcohol-impaired. This equals 29.25 percent of all traffic-related deaths.

The following table presents the total number of accident fatalities in 2015, and what percentage of those were due to one or more drivers being DUI. The table is sorted by percentage, with Rhode Island having the highest percent of alcohol-related accident fatalities and Utah the lowest.

Nationwide Placement	State	DUI Fatalities	Total Fatalities	Percentage
1	Rhode Island	19	45	42.22%
2	Connecticut	103	266	38.72%
3	Wyoming	56	145	38.62%
4	North Dakota	50	131	38.17%
5	Texas	1,323	3,516	37.63%
6	Alaska	23	65	35.38%
7	Hawaii	33	94	35.11%
8	Oregon	155	447	34.68%
9	Lousiana	245	726	33.75%
10	Montana	75	224	33.48%
11	Wisconsin	189	566	33.39%
12	Maine	52	156	33.33%
13	New Mexico	98	298	32.89%
14	Delaware	41	126	32.54%
15	Idaho	70	216	32.41%
16	South Dakota	43	133	32.33%
17	Massachusetts	96	306	31.37%
18	Maryland	159	513	30.99%
19	South Carolina	301	977	30.81%
20	Illinois	307	998	30.76%
21	Arizona	272	893	30.46%
22	Pennsylvania	364	1,200	30.33%
23	Nevada	97	325	29.85%
24	North Carolina	411	1,379	29.80%
25	Alabama	247	849	29.09%
26	New Hampshire	33	114	28.95%
27	California	914	3,176	28.78%
28	Ohio	313	1,110	28.20%
29	Arkansas	149	531	28.06%
30	Minnesota	115	411	27.98%
31	New York	311	1,121	27.74%
32	Michigan	267	963	27.73%
33	Colorado	151	546	27.66%
34	Virginia	208	753	27.62%
35	Florida	797	2,939	27.12%
36	West Virginia	71	268	26.49%
37	Oklahoma	170	643	26.44%
38	Nebraska	65	246	26.42%
39	Vermont	15	57	26.32%
40	Tennessee	252	958	23.30%
41	District of Columbia	6	23	26.09%
42	Washington	148	568	26.06%
43	Mississippi	175	677	25.85%
44	Missouri	224	869	25.78%
45	Georgia	366	1,430	25.59%
46	Kentucky	192	761	25.23%
47	Iowa	78	320	24.38%
48	Kansas	84	355	23.66%
49	Indiana	178	821	21.68%
50	New Jersey	111	562	19.75%
51	Utah	43	276	15.58%
	Nationwide	10,265	35,092	29.25%

Nationwide Demographics of DUI Drivers in Fatal Accidents

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides a breakdown of when fatal accidents occur (day versus night, weekday versus weekend) and demographics of the drivers and their vehicles. Please note that, in some instances, the total numbers do not equal the demographic breakdowns. This is due to the fact that these factors are unknown in some accidents.

In the following table, daytime is measured as occurring between 6:00 AM and 5:59 PM. The weekend begins at 5:59 PM Friday and ends at 5:59 AM Monday morning.

Fatal Drivers by Day and Time

Day & Time	Total # of Drivers	DUI Drivers	Percent of Total
Weekday, Daytime	17,105	1,347	8%
Weekday, Nighttime	9,741	2,874	29%
Weekend, Daytime	6,377	854	13%
Weekend, Nighttime	11,127	4,232	38%

Drivers in Fatal Accidents by Age

Age Range	Total # of Drivers	DUI Drivers	Percent of Total
16-20	3,803	662	17%
21-24	4,654	1,404	30%
25-34	8,972	2,586	29%
35-44	6,894	1,652	24%
45-54	7,350	1,493	20%
55-64	5,997	945	16%
65-74	3,314	327	10%
75+	2,641	152	6%

Drivers in Fatal Accidents by Gender

Gender	Total # of Drivers	DUI Drivers	Percent of Total
Male	32,572	7,574	23%
Female	11,258	1,671	15%

Drivers in Fatal Accidents by Vehicle Type

Vehicle Type	Total # of Drivers	DUI Drivers	Percent of Total
Passenger Cars	17,757	3,922	22%
Light Trucks	17,017	3,694	22%
Large Trucks	3,697	68	2%
Motorcycles	4,692	1,372	29%

DUI Arrests in 2015

Arizona saw 22,367 DUI arrests in 2015 (the most recent year these statistics are available), the eleventh highest rate nationwide in both number and percentage of the population. With an estimated population of 5,108,556, the number of people arrested for DUI in Arizona equals 0.43 percent of the state's overall population.

The following table presents the total number of DUI arrests in 2015, and what percentage that number is of the state's overall population. The table is sorted by percentage, with South Dakota having the highest percent of DUI arrests and Delaware the lowest.

Nationwide Placement	State	DUI Arrests	Population Size	Percentage
4	Alabama	7,863	3,663,706	0.21%
37	Alaska	3,163	734,820	0.43%
11	Arizona	22,367	5,108,556	0.43%
37	Arkansas	6,919	2,686,917	0.25%
22	California	141,458	38,908,726	0.36%
44	Colorado	25,562	5,105,425	0.50%
8	Connecticut	8,148	3,301,351	0.24%
1	Delaware	386	945,934	0.04%
3	Florida	31,783	20,222,616	0.15%
9	Georgia	19,217	7,765,684	0.24%
41	Hawaii	5,250	1,164,233	0.45%
30	Idaho	5,844	1,515,358	0.38%
10	Illinois	32,285	12,869,257	0.25%
17	Indiana	14,428	4,703,413	0.30%
20	Iowa	9,028	2,502,758	0.36%
28	Kansas	7,186	1,883,819	0.38%
33	Kentucky	17,825	4,381,885	0.40%
5	Louisiana	5,339	2,467,765	0.21%
38	Maine	5,756	1,327,104	0.43%
26	Maryland	17,100	4,545,345	0.37%
2	Massachusetts	8,258	6,194,224	0.13%
16	Michigan	26,845	9,275,519	0.28%
32	Minnesota	20,830	5,267,955	0.39%
47	Mississippi	6,889	1,201,051	0.57%
21	Missouri	19,449	5,365,025	0.36%
34	Montana	3,674	892,390	0.41%
42	Nebraska	5,348	1,172,029	0.45%
13	Nevada	7,612	2,890,845	0.26%
31	New Hampshire	4,746	1,223,429	0.38%
14	New Jersey	22,201	8,116,733	0.27%
46	New Mexico	8,542	1,577,658	0.54%
15	New York	28,988	10,479,132	0.27%
45	North Carolina	35,967	6,955,485	0.51%
49	North Dakota	6,351	744,362	0.85%
35	Ohio	34,254	8,279,228	0.41%
18	Oklahoma	11,101	3,573,369	0.31%
43	Oregon	9.019	1,919,401	0.46%
25	Pennsylvania	44,615	11,980,252	0.37%
7	Rhode Island	2,591	1,056,298	0.24%
29	South Carolina	16,271	4,085,854	0.39%
50	South Dakota	7,305	790,395	0.92%
23	Tennessee	23,150	6,339,882	0.36%
6	Texas	64,971	26,993,502	0.24%
19	Utah	8,813	2,832,325	0.31%
24	Vermont	2,144	583,567	0.36%
12	Virginia	20,477	7,925,463	0.25%
27	Washington	24,627	6,543,817	0.37%
36	West Virginia	4,543	1,071,996	0.24%
40	Wisconsin	24,688	5,502,458	0.44%
48	Wyoming	3,157	523,926	0.60%

80	28	$199 Billion	63	29+ Million	239	720	4,000
# of times someone drives drunk before getting caught	# of people who die every day in drunk driving accidents	Annual cost of drunk driving in America	Percent of people who will be involved in a drunk driving accident	# of people who admit driving drunk in 2015	# of children killed in drunk driving accidents in 2015	# of people injured every day in drunk driving accidents	# of people arrested every day for drunk driving

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