Below, serious and fatal injuries in impaired driving crashes are broken down by age, gender, vehicle type, and Florida residency.
From 2015 to 2020, serious and fatal injuries associated with impaired driving crashes were most common among younger drivers, particularly those between the ages of 24 and 27. Although the frequency of these outcomes declined with increasing age, it should be noted that a second, smaller peak was observed for drivers in their mid-forties.
The proportion of driver fatalities involving impairment remains high across age groups, with impaired driving crashes accounting for nearly 50% of the roadway fatalities observed for drivers between the ages of 21 and 59.
Percentage of fatally injured drivers in impaired driving crashes compared to fatally injured drivers in all traffic crashes (2015-2020)
| Age Group | 15-20 | 21-24 | 25-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60-69 | 70-79 | 80+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of fatally injured drivers in impaired driving crashes compared to fatally injured drivers in all traffic crashes | 35% | 46% | 49% | 51% | 49% | 45% | 35% | 22% | 11% |
| Fatally injured drivers in impaired crashes | 286 | 537 | 625 | 941 | 704 | 708 | 419 | 184 | 79 |
| Fatally injured drivers in all traffic crashes | 814 | 1,162 | 1,274 | 1,851 | 1,429 | 1,558 | 1,196 | 832 | 696 |
When broken down by gender, adverse outcomes in impaired driving crashes were far more prevalent among males, who accounted for 70% of serious injuries and 80% of fatalities.
From 2015-2020, passenger cars and vans accounted for the largest proportion of fatal impaired driving crashes in Florida (44%). However, despite representing for just 3% of the registered vehicles and less than 1% of the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on Florida’s roadways, motorcycles accounted for 14% of all fatalities involving impairment.
While female drivers accounted for a larger proportion of serious and fatal injuries in impaired driving crashes that involved a passenger car or utility vehicle, the opposite trend was observed for all other vehicle types.
Vehicle Type/Gender of Drivers in Impaired Driving Fatal Traffic Crashes, Florida (2015-2020)
| Fatalities | Serious Injuries | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | |
| Passenger Car/Van | 37% | 65% | 42% | 46% | 66% | 52% |
| Pickup Truck | 15% | 6% | 14% | 18% | 7% | 15% |
| Motorcycle | 31% | 5% | 26% | 15% | 2% | 11% |
| (Sport) Utility Vehicle | 12% | 22% | 14% | 15% | 23% | 17% |
| Other Vehicles (Including Unknown) | 5% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 2% | 5% |
| Grand Total (N) | 100% (3,597) | 100% (874) | 100% (4,471) | 100% (4,839) | 100% (2,069) | 100% (6,908) |
Unsurprisingly, from 2015-2020, Florida residents accounted for a majority of impaired driving fatalities and serious injuries. However, due in part to Florida’s status as a major tourism state, it should be noted that non-residents still accounted for a sizable proportion of these outcomes (8 and 9%, respectively).
Residency/Non-residency of Drivers in Impaired Driving Traffic Crashes, Florida (2015-2020)
| Fatalities | Serious Injuries | All | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residency | Non-Residency | Total | Residency | Non-Residency | Total | Residency | Non-Residency | Total | |
| Passenger Car/Van | 93% | 7% | 44% | 91% | 9% | 53% | 88% | 12% | 59% |
| Pickup Truck | 93% | 7% | 16% | 91% | 9% | 15% | 87% | 13% | 15% |
| Motorcycle | 92% | 8% | 14% | 93% | 7% | 7% | 90% | 10% | 2% |
| (Sport) Utility Vehicle | 92% | 8% | 17% | 90% | 10% | 19% | 87% | 13% | 19% |
| Other Vehicles (Including Unknown) | 82% | 18% | 9% | 84% | 16% | 6% | 75% | 25% | 5% |
| Grand Total (N) | 92% | 8% | 100% (8,963) | 91% | 9% | 100% (11,691) | 87% | 13% | 100% (168,848) |