Breaking News for Culpeper and Warrenton Accident Victims

Rise in number of women caught driving under the influence of alcohol

Posted on Aug 20, 2009

The number of women facing DUI charges across the country was up nearly 30 percent from 1997 to 2007. A total of 162,493 women were arrested on DUI charges in 2007 according to FBI statistics. During the same time period, the number of men facing similar charges dropped 7.5 percent.

The president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving has pointed out that about 2,000 intoxicated women a year are involved in fatal auto accidents. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called the increase in female drunk drivers “a disturbing trend”.

The reason for the increase in intoxicated female drivers is unknown, and the federal government offered no theories as to why more women were drunk driving.

These statistics come as the nation prepares for the annual Labor Day weekend DUI crackdown, when law enforcement officers in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. will be out in force. The annual crackdown, dubbed “Checkpoint Strikeforce”, will place sobriety checkpoints throughout the area from August 21 to Labor Day.

Despite the increase, drunk driving arrests are still dominated by men. In Virginia last year, about 80 percent of those convicted of a DUI were men and the remaining 20 percent were women.