One in Five Drivers Say They Have Driven at or Over Legal Alcohol Limit: Survey

A survey by the American Automobile Association (AAA) finds one-fifth of licensed drivers who drink at least occasionally say they have driven when they thought their alcohol level may have been close to, or over, the legal limit in the past year.

The findings are based on the AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety annual survey, Bloomberg reports. In the group’s past two annual surveys, 14 percent of drivers said they thought they had driven at or over the legal alcohol limit.

The new survey found 96 percent of drivers consider impaired driving to be somewhat or completely unacceptable, and 50 percent report that drunk drivers are a bigger problem today, compared with three years ago. “Despite the ubiquitous warnings about drinking and driving especially during the holiday season, alcohol-related crashes still represent one in three motor vehicle deaths,” AAA Chief Operating Officer Marshall L. Doney said in a news release.

The survey found 68 percent want new cars to have built-in devices to test drivers’ sobriety before they start the car, and 63 percent approve of lowering the legal blood-alcohol limit to 0.05 percent, from 0.08 percent.