California has one of the highest drunk driving rates in the nation – the Justice Department reported that in 2013, our state had 214,828 DUI arrests per a population of 37,691,912. Here is a breakdown of major findings from recent California DUI statistics.
Felony DUI Arrests
- Over a three-year span from 2009-2011, felony DUI arrests dropped from 5,577 to 4,655.
- Statewide, felony DUI arrest rates sit at about 2.6%.
- In Los Angeles County, there are over 1,000 DUI arrests annually, giving our county a 3.2% arrest rate, higher than the state average.>
DUI Convictions
- DUI conviction rates also dropped over this period from 77.2% to 73.1%.
- DUI conviction rates continue to be higher among males than females.
DUI Accidents
- Alcohol involved crashes that resulted in injuries dropped from 2009-2011 from 26,058 to 23,621.
- The current estimated percentage of crash injuries in California is 10.6%.
DUI Fatalities
- The amount of DUI crash fatalities has stayed about the same over the past few years, remaining at about 710 deaths per year.
- The current estimated percentage of crash fatalities in California is 38.5%
DUI License Suspension
- The amount of mandatory license suspensions has dropped to about 33,000 per year in California.
- First offender suspensions comprise a majority of those suspensions. Just under 2,000 of these 11,000+ total suspension actions are for felony DUIs.
Juvenile DUI
- Although the average age of DUI offenders in California is 30 years old, 1% of them are under the age of 18.
- Drivers under the age of 21 are responsible for approximately 11% of all alcohol-related drunk driving crashes.
No one wants to become a statistic, but it can happen to virtually anyone. If you were arrested for drunk driving and you need defense, contact Gold & Witham today to speak with a Los Angeles DUI attorney in a free case evaluation.