Impaired driving is something that spans all ages and is done by men and women. All it takes is one time driving after having a little bit too much to drink to get a drunk driving charge on your criminal record.
That being said, you can look at the statistics to see who tends to do this the most. Clearly, there are not statistics on the people who drive under the influence and are never caught, but one way to track this is to look at the age of drivers who are involved in accidents.
When you do, you find that those between 21 and 24 years old drive under the influence the most. This age group is involved in 27% of accidents caused by drunk driving. At 25%, the second highest total, are those from 25 to 34 years old.
The legal drinking age plays a role
What you can see here is a clear correlation between the legal drinking age and the odds of being involved in a drunk driving accident. This isn’t to say that it doesn’t happen to those from 16 to 20, who are involved in about 15% of these crashes, but it is less common.
This may be because those who are under 21 tend to drink in localized situations. They have a house party where they think they won’t get caught, for example, and everyone stays there. But once they can legally drink, then they start going out to the bars and clubs, and that means that they have to drive. This leads to a quick increase in DUI arrests and accidents.
Are you facing a DUI charge?
If you have been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, you should know that it can be expensive, it can put points on your license and it can have a big impact on your future. It’s critical that you know about all the legal options you have.
