• 11
  • February
    2012

More women throughout the country are driving drunk while the number of DUI arrests for males have decreased, a recent FBI analysis shows. Despite the increase in female drunk driving arrests, males still make up more than three-fourths of all DUI arrests nationwide, according to FBI statistics.

The FBI's data from 2001 and 2010 report that the number of males charged with DUI decreased by 10 percent while the number of women charged with DUI increased by almost 36 percent.

The AAA issued a press release stressing the dangers of drunk driving and how women become legally intoxicated more quickly than men. Because women's bodies have a higher percentage of fat and a lower concentration of an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol, women reach the 0.08 blood alcohol limit faster than men according to the AAA.

The AAA also released a study on alcohol consumption which found that roughly 30 percent of respondents incorrectly thought there was no difference in the way women and men process alcohol. The study also found that 13 percent of male respondents said that during the past year they had been concerned about a female friend or family member who appeared to be intoxicated.

While many know the dangers of intoxicated driving, safety advertisements are typically used at major sporting events and targeted towards young males. Safety advocates and prosecutors both feel that drunk driving safety initiatives and advertisements may need to be changed since advertisements have focused mainly on males and have forgotten to include women.

Source: The Commercial Appeal, "It's a sobering fact: More women are driving drunk," Beth Warren, Feb. 5, 2012