“There are 3 kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics” – Mark Twain
The latest report by the California DUI Management Information System provides current and comprehensive statistics on the processing of DUI offenders, including:
- California DUI arrests,
- DUI convictions,
- postconviction penalties and punishment,
- driver license suspension/revocation actions, and on
- drivers in alcohol- or drug-involved crashes.
The data presented in this 2022 DUI report refer to 2019 or 2020.
DUI Summary Statistics
⇒The DUI arrest rate per 100,000 licensed drivers decreased by 21.5% in 2020, following a decrease of 3.2% in 2019.
⇒In 2020, alcohol-involved crash fatalities increased by 7.6%
⇒Drug-involved crash fatalities increased by 28.9%
⇒Of the total number of crash fatalities in 2020, 31.8% were alcohol-involved, the same as in 2019.
⇒The percentage of drug-involved fatalities increased from the prior year’s 21.4% to
25.8% in 2020
⇒11.4% of total crash injuries were alcohol-involved, an increase from 10.2% reported
for 2019
DUI Arrests
While the last decade has seen a fairly steady decline in the DUI arrest rate, the much more substantial reduction observed in 2020 is clearly linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated shutdown.
⇒ The median (midpoint) age of a DUI arrestee in 2020 was 31 years and almost three-quarters (72.8%) of arrestees were age 40 or younger.
⇒ Males comprised 78.2% of all 2020 DUI arrests. The proportion of females among DUI arrests has risen from 10.6% in 1989 to 21.8% in 2020.
⇒ Based on data from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Hispanic drivers (53.6%) were the largest racial/ethnic group among 2020 DUI arrestees, as has been the case each year for over a decade.
DUI Convictions
⇒ 68.9% of 2019 DUI arrests resulted in convictions for DUI offenses.
⇒ 5.6% of DUI convictions among those arrested in 2019 were driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) convictions. Read More About DUI Drugs
⇒ Among convicted DUI offenders arrested in 2019, 72.8% were first offenders and 27.2% were repeat offenders
⇒ The median blood alcohol concentration (BAC) among convicted 2019 DUI offenders, as reported by law enforcement on Administrative Per Se (APS) forms, was 0.16%, which is double the California illegal per se BAC limit of 0.08% Read More About blood alcohol concentration BAC
⇒ Among 2019 DUI arrest cases, 20.5% did not show any corresponding conviction on
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records, higher than the value for 2018.
Will I Go To Jail For My DUI?
⇒ The most frequent court punishment for all convicted DUI offenders arrested in 2019 was probation (95.9%), while the least frequently imposed court penalty was ignition interlock (15.9%). Read More About Ignition Interlock Devices
⇒ DUI offenders were sentenced to jail in 74.1% of the cases
⇒ Among first DUI offenders arrested in 2019, 66.3% were sentenced to jail, compared to 95.2% of all repeat offenders
License Suspension/Revocation Actions
⇒ The total number of DMV APS and DUI postconviction suspension or revocation actions decreased by 29.3% in 2020. Again, this decrease is clearly linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated shutdown. Read More About DUI DMV License Suspensions and Restrictions
⇒ In 2020, 91,300 APS license actions were taken, representing a 22% relative decrease from 2019. 72.1% were first-offender actions (including “zero tolerance” actions taken for drivers under age 21). 27.9% were repeat-offender actions.
Drivers in Crashes Involving Alcohol and Drugs
⇒ While the number of alcohol-involved fatalities declined by about 6% over the past 25 years, the number of drug-involved fatalities nearly quadrupled over the same time period.
⇒ Of all 2019 DUI arrests, 21.4% were associated with a reported traffic crash, whereas 8.3% were associated with crashes involving injuries or fatalities.
⇒ In 2019, over three-fourths (76.8%) of drivers in alcohol- and drug-involved fatal crashes had no prior DUI or alcohol- or drug-related reckless driving conviction. In contrast, the majority (55.8%) of drivers in alcohol- and drug-involved injury crashes had at least one prior DUI or alcohol- or drug-related reckless driving conviction.
