9 Sobering Drunk Driving Statistics From a DUI Lawyer

Drunk driving, or driving while under the influence alcohol and/or drugs, is a major safety concern for Ontario and beyond. Drunk driving crashes may result in severe trauma such as spinal cord injury, brain injury, and even death. We recently spoke with Brampton Impaired Driving Lawyer Akash Dhillon, a criminal lawyer with A. Dhillon Law Professional Corporation to learn more about the statistics and facts of drinking and driving in Ontario and beyond. As someone who specializes in DUI charges in Brampton, the city with the most Impaired Driving cases per capita in all of Canada, Akash has seen it all. 

Drunk driving statistics and other facts

Here are 10 drunken driving statistics, and other facts and numbers that show why drinking and driving is not allowed on Ontario roads:

1. Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada (MADD Canada) estimates that alcohol and other intoxicants were a contributing factor to at least 1,082 of the 2,541 fatal accidents in 2023. This is an underestimation, according to the organization. It believes that this is due to underreporting of accidents and other issues with collecting accurate data.

2. MADD Canada estimates that 63,821 people were injured in alcohol-related accidents in 2023.

3. A Chief Superintendent of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), said that nearly 25% of fatal accidents are caused by drunk drivers in Ontario.

4. Toronto's OPP issues thousands of drunk driving citations each year.

In 2023, the OPP reported that about 2,000 of the 69,218 crashes involved alcohol.

6. MADD Canada reported that drunk driving crashes cost the nation $20.62 billion in 2023. This includes those with fatalities, injuries or property damage.

7. Each day, drunk driving accidents cause damage to 578 vehicles. MADD states that more than 210,000 cars are damaged every year by alcohol-related accidents resulting in only property damage.

Drunken driving is a serious threat to Canada's young people. Canadians aged 15-24 are the most likely to die from traffic accidents. Alcohol is involved in about 45 percent of these crashes.

9. Driving below the legal limit of 0.08 percent blood alcohol content will still affect driving. Even a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 percent can lead to impaired judgement and coordination in a driver. A driver who has a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent may experience difficulty controlling their speed, have impaired perception, and be unable process stimuli.

According Transport Canada, as BAC increases, the risk of an automobile accident also increases.

• A BAC between 0.05 and 0.08 percent can increase accident risk by up to four-fold;
• A BAC between 0.10 and 0.14 percent can increase the risk of an accident by six to seven fold.
• A BAC of at least 0.15 percent can increase accident risk by up to 25x.

If you've been drinking, don’t drive—no excuse is worth risking lives. In just a moment, you could destroy your future, harm or kill someone else, and leave lasting pain for those who care about you. Stay safe. Make the right choice.