2,670 = Drunk Driving Deaths So Far In 2009

Disregard the number you just saw in the title of this post. The numbers have already changed. We are in the third month of 2009 and there has already been over 2,500 deaths caused by drunk driving. The numbers are overwhelming and even scarier is the fact that these numbers that you see below will keep increasing by the minute.

Drunk driving related deaths are so often that in US each day someone is killed by a drunk driver every 40 minutes. When you are playing a game of pool with your buddies at the bar and waiting for your next drink, there lies someone dead and the reason being alcohol. We are not against alcohol as you can tell. We run a site that talks about alcohol and we are all for it. But when cause of celebration becomes the reason for mourning over someone’s death it’s time to take control. We just wanted to do a short post and a video to talk about drunk driving today.

Here are a few quick facts related to drunk driving :

1. On average, someone is killed by a drunk driver every 40 minutes in US
2. Each day 36 people die and almost 700 more are injured in vehicle crashes that involve a drunk driver
3. The total cost of alcohol related crashes is roughly $51 billion
4. In 2006, out of 1,746 fatality that included children one out of six was killed by an alcohol impaired driver
5. Half of all teenage fatalities is due to drunk driving
6. About 30 % of Americans are involved in an alcohol related crash sometimes in their lifetime
7. In 2007 alcohol related fatalities were 15,387 which is 37% of all fatalities. Alcohol related fatalities are down by 27% as compared to 1982.
8. Top 5 states with highest number of alcohol related fatalities are Texas, California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
9. About 81% of all drunk drivers are male drivers
10. As you read this article most probably the number of deaths caused by drunk driving has already changed

image

Deaths Caused By Alcohol (most of these are due to drunk driving)

source

As you can see from the data above, alcohol related fatalities are lower than what it has been in the past. In 2007, alcohol related fatalities were 15,387. Although the numbers might seems lower we need to keep in mind that these aren’t mere numbers, these numbers represent people. Drunk drivers continue to take their own lives and others as well. Here is what a drunk driver had to say in regards to drunk driving,

My friends and I were at a party. After having only 2 drinks each, we decided to go home. No one was designated to drive, and we got careless on the road. Alcohol debilitated my reaction time. I was driving. I hit another car coming directly at us after crossing over the center line. I killed two people that night – one of them a friend in my car… it is something I will never forget and it will always haunt me.

We are not here to advice anyone or tell anyone what to do. We all make mistakes but some mistakes are too costly especially when you know the right answer from wrong.

We put together a short video for you to watch which includes images of a few drunk driving crashes. We sure do hope that we have contributed in some ways to make you think twice before you decide to drive yet again after getting drunk.

Take a moment and scroll all the way to the top of this article and you might see the number of deaths related to drunk driving has changed. If it hasn’t someone just made a wise decision and decided not to drive while impaired by alcohol and if the numbers have changed, another life has been lost to drunk driving.

If you are driving drunk you are not driving towards your destination. You are chasing death and it is right around the corner.

Related posts:

1. A Horrifying 7000 Deaths Due to Drunk Driving since 03/09
2. Drunk Driving Statistics : Looking Back as 2009 Comes To an End
3. Drunk Driving – A Week Into 2010 and Over 200 Deaths
4. Drunk Warehouse Driver Ruins Thousands Worth Of Cognac
5. Ads That Make You Think Twice Before Drunk Driving

88 Responses to “2,670 = Drunk Driving Deaths So Far In 2009”

1. lila says:

   August 6, 2009 at 12:53 pm

   i was hit by a car and i cant walk
2. Alcohol Advertising Myths That Are Often Presented As Facts | COGNAC Your Guide To The Finest Drinks says:

   September 11, 2009 at 10:18 am

   [...] that are not based on facts but rather on rumors. We have been covering other topics such as drunk driving awareness, legal drinking age in different countries, facts on college students and alcohol among other [...]
3. PAULAOVERSTREET says:

   September 20, 2009 at 5:04 pm

   I HAVE SUFFERED FROM LOSEING TWO SONS IN TWO DIFFERENT ALCOHOL RELATED ACCIDENTS IN LESS THAN 2 YEARS APART. JEREMY WAS 22 YEARS OLD AND ALAN WAS ONLY 16. MY LIFE HAS TOTALLY CHANGED. PLEASE THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK, PLEASE DONT DRINK AND DRIVE. I SPEAK AT CHURCHES FOR ALL YOUNG TEENS OR ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN TO ME ABOUT DRINKING AND DRIVING. I HAVE A VERY HEARTBREAKING STORY AND A VERY POWERFULL MESSAGE TO GET ACROSS TO OTHERS. IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE ME TO TELL MY STORY, PLEASE LET ME KNOW, YOU CAN REACH ME THREW MYSPACE OR SEND EMAIL TO PAULAOVERSTREET@YAHOO.COM ALL LOWERCASE LETTERS…. THANK YOU SO MUCH. PLEASE DONT DRINK AND DRIVE.
4. ash says:

   October 5, 2009 at 2:04 am

   my dad is an alcoholic. im 15 yrs old.
   he makes me get in the car with him after hes been drinking.
   it scares me.
5. Kstar says:

   October 6, 2009 at 4:55 pm

   i lost my boyfriend and 3 other friends 6 1/2 months ago in a terrible drunk driving accident the death of those 4 people that day on the 22nd of march have changed the life of a lot of people. But you still see people driving with beers in there laps. please dont drink in drive its just not worth risking your life over and not worth taking the life of someone else please just think and call someone before you get behind the wheel drunk
6. Shannon and Hannah says:

   October 8, 2009 at 1:13 pm

   We are best friends. Once we went to a party and saw our third best friend get hit by a car and lose her leg because she was drunk.
7. Shannon and Hannah says:

   October 8, 2009 at 1:13 pm

   We are best friends. Once we went to a party and saw our third best friend get hit by a car and lose her leg because she was drunk.
8. Megan says:

   October 12, 2009 at 5:12 pm

   My boyfriend was killed by a drunk driver when he was 19 on August 16 of this year (2009).
   People, dont drink and drive.
   Because you never know whos life besides yours will be altered and effected by that decision.
9. Sydney Engstrom says:

   October 19, 2009 at 8:41 pm

   wowza thats really sad people are so freaking stupid these days were gonna stop this some day some how
10. courtney.. says:

    October 21, 2009 at 3:11 pm

    i lost a best friend to some idiot that decided to drive her and himself with a .27 blood alcohol level. he’s looking at 20 to life in prison. one dumb mistake like that can change your life and cost someone else theres…
11. Alex says:

    October 23, 2009 at 4:06 am

    My dad was a CHP officer and was killed by a drunk driver when he was working another crash on the freeway. The man hit him and kept going, not even slowing down. It will be the ninth aniversery of his death on 10/28, but it still hurts everyday as if it happened only yesterday.
    Don’t drink and drive, you aren’t hurting just one person, but also everyone around them.
12. liz says:

    October 27, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    i have been in a car more then 20 times with a drunk driver unfortanetly its my step father he is wat i call an alcoholic
    but hey all b.c of him we can get in a very bad accedent and maybe hit another car but yet he dont even care he has 2 young kids within the ages of 5 and 6 so yeah
13. liz says:

    October 27, 2009 at 11:49 pm

    also in the school that i happen to go to not so long ago a young teenager was hit by a drunk driver and unfortanetly died because of him
14. Eric says:

    October 28, 2009 at 8:22 pm

    I have two DUIs and fortunately no one got injured. I learned my lesson and encourage people to please not drink and drive.
15. Chelsea lee says:

    October 29, 2009 at 2:11 pm

    my step father is an alcoholic. he has been that way since my siter was born over twenty years ago. my whole life i watched him get so drunk he would fall down in the dirt and gett bruses all over his body i can remember one time i was 10 and he made me gat in the car after he had been drinking. we got in a wreck and i had to go to the hospital. i about died .
16. Sarah says:

    October 31, 2009 at 1:50 pm

    A friend of mine and his family, coming home from church on a Sunday morning. A drunk driver swerved and hit the passanger side of the vehicle, cutting the passangers, and the drivers sides in half. His mom was pronounced dead at the scene, he died shortely afterward. Drunk driving is not something you mess with. No matter who you are, no matter what is going on. It kills, and ruins others’ lives around you. Don’t get behind the wheel… Its that easy!
17. Sympathizer says:

    November 5, 2009 at 6:44 am

    This is why Islam places a total ban on alcohol. Saudi Arabia has a lot of other problems, is a bad country, but no one there dies of drugs or alcohol.
18. steph says:

    November 24, 2009 at 9:07 am

    my dad was drinking and driving about 3 yrs ago and ended up folding his truck in half around a oak tree 6 times the size of his truck. when the ambulance got there they were shocked he was alive due to the fact that his face was held together by a piece of bone the size of a pencil in his temple. he died 4 times in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. he is done with all his surgery’s to fix his face now and he has not touched a dropped of alcohol since that day. i am proud of him and hope this story helps someone stop drinking and driving
19. Drunk Driving Statistics : Looking Back as 2009 Comes To an End | COGNAC Your Guide To The Finest Drinks says:

    November 27, 2009 at 6:54 pm

    [...] 2009 so far. The very first time we covered drunk driving on this blog was back in March and the number of drunk driving deaths at that time was 2,670. Although we all hoped that the number wouldn’t change, they have changed dramatically which [...]
20. Tiffany says:

    November 28, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    Sept. 17, 2008 I found out that I was pregnant. On Oct. 17, 2008, my boyfriend got into a car with a guy who had been drinking and was killed instantly when the car hit a tree about 100 yards from where I was waiting on him. Before that day, I could have been found driving after having a few anytime. Now, I would not drive to the end of my road after having one sip. My daughter was born May 21, 2009, and will grow up without a father because of drunk driving.
21. jordan says:

    December 2, 2009 at 7:13 am

    wassup wassup, im doing a project on drunk driving
22. Crystal says:

    December 7, 2009 at 4:33 pm

    My 2 year old daughter was killed by a drunk driver on April 20, 2009. She was playing in my front yard I just turned my head for a second. Theres not a day that goes by I don’t think about her and wonder why. I miss her so much. I can’t have my baby back so he will pay the day he gets out….
    :’(

    R.I.P
    Vivian Prather
23. TOM JACOB says:

    December 9, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    I started out partying on the weekends at age 15 and became an alcoholic. I don’t say “Don’t drink and drive”, I say “Don’t drink, because after one drink you’ll be stupid enough to drive and not smart enough to stop drinking.” 16 yrs later, after much suffering, wrecks, fights, hangovers, jail, anxiety, wasted money and finally a divorce, I met Jesus Christ. He saved me from the madness and now I instruct a 12 step Overcomers class to try to lead others to the source of deliverance. Thank God I never killed or seriously injured anyone in all those years. It was only God’s mercy.
24. A Must Read Guide To Everything Alcohol | COGNAC Your Guide To The Finest Drinks says:

    December 10, 2009 at 8:19 am

    [...] a great weekend and remember to be safe out there. Enough lives have already been lost due to drunk driving, if you are drunk stay off the wheels. Share and [...]
25. MD says:

    December 14, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    Just passed 22 years clean and sober…..no drinks for over 20 years…and i don’t miss it at all!
26. Lilli says:

    December 17, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    <3 Alcohol
27. Dan says:

    December 22, 2009 at 6:09 am

    Not even 12 weeks ago i lost the love of my life. On christmas morning i planned to ask her to marry me. She was riding in a freinds car. they were hit head on by a drunk driver and they said she was dead instantly and she felt no pain. i suppose im glad she dident suffer. i now wear the ring i was going to give her on a chain that was her’s and i pray for the strength to keep going
28. Renee says:

    December 29, 2009 at 3:41 pm

    Ash – NEVER get in the car with your dad after he has been drinking. Run to the neighbors or go to your room, lock the door and call 911. When you’re at school, talk to your teacher or counselor about this. Your dad doesnt have the ability to think clearly when he is intoxicated. He needs professional help. Sending your best wishes.
29. Jen says:

    December 31, 2009 at 4:58 pm

    Dan I am so sorry to hear about your loss, when I read that it sent chills down my back!
30. thanks says:

    January 4, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    THANK YOU ALL FOR SHARING THE SAD STORIES WITH ME AND I GET IRATE WHEN PEOPLE DO ALCHOL ABUSE AND DO DUM THINGS AND THANK YOU FOR GIVING AAL THESE STORIES BECAUSE NOW I CUD USE EXAMPLES FROM HERE
31. Summer and JJ says:

    January 15, 2010 at 5:39 pm

    wowee… all of these are sooooo sad… i cant even begin to imagine all of your guys pain. God bless +
32. shawn says:

    February 2, 2010 at 4:08 pm

    Tom jacob….its sad to heard your story and gad you over came it all but i do have one question……how in the world did you MEET jesus christ?
33. Camille says:

    February 2, 2010 at 10:46 pm

    Nearly two months ago I was hit by a drunk driver, totaling my car. My sister and I were injured, but not critically, lacerations and bruises, thank goodness. But the woman’s BAC was double the legal limit in GA and this was her second defense. I hope somehow she will find it in her to stop putting others’ lives in danger. It took me a month to get back to driving and even now I am still having anxiety attacks. Please be the smarter person and don’t drink and drive.
34. franky says:

    February 11, 2010 at 10:55 am

    i know someone dat is an alcoholic n drives like he/she was intoxicated now dat person snapped cuz he has never been in an accident nor he has taken someones life but still its bad to drink n drive so dnt do it ppl cuz one day you guys will end up payin for taken someones life or injuring someone
    n yea run up get gunned up b/w
35. Danielle says:

    February 22, 2010 at 3:43 pm

    On April 5th 2009 at 1:03 am i was hit head on by a drunk driver, he was 3 times the legal limit in CA. My car was totaled out. I had to go to the hospital and was in and out for over 4 months. I still go to the chyropractor. It has almost been a year and i thought i could find the strength to forgive him but i cant. my life has yet to be the same. He got off easy, not even one night in jail or even a fine. It really is not fair. But i am truly thankful i lived and i can try to help others.
36. Jessica says:

    February 24, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    I’ve heard a story from a cheerleader that visited our school. Her friend was at a party drinking and later her friends were driving home and they got into an accident. It was terrible hearing it as she was crying. Isn’t it hurtful to know that these people out there are losing lives because of people’s careless acts:(
    Please be safe, a message to everyone.
    Think before you drive, or any other actions that could cause subsequential affects.
37. Katie says:

    March 6, 2010 at 9:53 pm

    As I was driving home last night the was a car weaving in and out of traffic and traveling at a very high rate of speed. He nearly rear-ended me and almost hit the car next to me. I saw him nearly hit a guard rail a few times. I had lost sight of him, then a few minutes later I saw his car on it’s side and on fire. He had lost control and hit a guard rail. He died today at the hospital, his passenger is in stable condition. Speed and alcohol are factors in this accident. I feel very bothered by it.
38. Paul says:

    March 9, 2010 at 11:28 am

    its so sad