2. Alcohol-Related Fatalities

This section describes fatalities that occurred in alcohol-related crashes. Of interest are the roles of the fatally injured people and the vehicles they were traveling in.

2.1. Alcohol-Related Fatalities by Role

In 2003, there were 17,013 fatalities in the 15,251 fatal crashes that were alcohol-related. Table 5 identifies the alcohol involvement of the fatally injured people. For drivers, motorcycle operators, and nonoccupants, the fatalities are classified by their alcohol involvement and for passengers/riders, the fatalities are classified by the alcohol involvement of the drivers/motorcycle operators with whom they were riding.

Table 5: Fatalities in Alcohol-Related Crashes by Role and Alcohol Involvement¹, 2003

Role	Number	Percent
Driver with alcohol	8,406	49.4%
Passengers riding w/ Driver with alcohol	2,896	17.0%
Motorcycle Operator with alcohol	1,243	7.3%
Motorcycle Rider w/ Operator with alcohol	110	0.7%
Nonoccupant with alcohol	1,964	11.5%
Driver with no alcohol	1,036	6.1%
Passengers w/ Driver with no alcohol	583	3.4%
Motorcycle Operator with no alcohol	136	0.8%
Motorcycle Rider w/ Operator with no alcohol	14	0.1%
Nonoccupant with no alcohol	555	3.3%
Others2	70	0.4%
Total	17,013	100%
1BAC is reported in FARS only for Drivers, Pedestrians, and Pedalcyclists 2Includes Occupant of Motor Vehicle Not in Transport/ Occupant of a Nonmotor Vehicle Transport Device or Unknown Occupant in Motor Vehicle in Transport or Passengers in Vehicles without a Coded Driver. Source: NCSA FARS 2003 Annual Report File Note: Numbers and percentages may not add to total due to independent rounding.

As seen in table 5, more than two-thirds of all people killed in alcohol-related crashes were drivers, motorcycle operators, and nonoccupants who themselves had alcohol. Another 18 percent of all alcohol-related fatalities were people who were riding with drivers/motorcycle operators who had alcohol. Drivers, motorcycle operators, and nonoccupants with no alcohol as well as passengers riding with drivers/motorcycle operators with no alcohol accounted for about 14 percent of all alcohol-related fatalities.

As motor vehicle traffic crashes are usually complex events, it would be noteworthy to identify the role and alcohol involvement of the fatally injured persons, conditional on the fact that one or more persons of a particular role had alcohol in the crash.

2.1.1. Fatalities in Crashes in Which at Least One of the Involved Drivers/Motorcycle Operators Had Alcohol

As shown previously in table 4, there were 14,260 drivers/motorcycle operators with alcohol who were involved in fatal crashes. There were 15,322 fatalities in such crashes. Table 6 depicts the fatalities by the role of the fatally injured person and the alcohol involvement of drivers, motorcycle operators, and nonoccupants killed in the crash.

In crashes involving at least one driver/motorcycle operator with alcohol, about 82 percent of the fatalities occurred to the impaired driver/motorcycle operator or to persons riding with them. The remaining fatalities in such crashes occurred to drivers/motorcycle operators with no alcohol (multiple-vehicle crashes), passengers riding with such drivers/motorcycle operators, and nonoccupants. The main difference between table 6 and table 5 is in the smaller number of fatally injured nonoccupants with alcohol that is reflected in table 6.

Table 6: Fatalities in Crashes Involving at Least One Driver/Motorcycle Operator With Alcohol, by
Role and Alcohol Involvement¹, 2003

Role	Number	Percent
Driver with alcohol	8,406	54.9%
Passengers riding w/ Driver with alcohol	2,896	18.9%
Motorcycle Operator with alcohol	1,243	8.1%
Motorcycle Rider w/ Operator with alcohol	110	0.7%
Nonoccupant with alcohol	422	2.8%
Driver with no alcohol	1,020	6.7%
Passengers w/ Driver with no alcohol	579	3.8%
Motorcycle Operator with no alcohol	133	0.9%
Motorcycle Rider w/ Operator with no alcohol	14	0.1%
Nonoccupant with no alcohol	475	3.1%
Others2	24	0.2%
Total	15,322	100%
1BAC is reported in FARS only for Drivers, Pedestrians, and Pedalcyclists. 2Includes Occupant of Motor Vehicle Not in Transport/ Occupant of a Nonmotor Vehicle Transport Device or Unknown Occupant in Motor Vehicle in Transport or Passengers in Vehicles without a Coded Driver. Source: NCSA FARS 2003 Annual Report File Note: Numbers and percentages may not add to total due to independent rounding.

2.1.2. Fatalities in Crashes in Which at Least One of the Involved Motorcycle Operators Had Alcohol

As shown previously in table 5, there were 1,243 motorcycle operators with alcohol who were fatally injured. There were 1,386 fatalities in crashes that involve at least one motorcycle operator with alcohol. Table 7 shows the fatalities by the role of the fatally injured person in such crashes. About 90 percent of the fatalities in crashes involving at least one motorcycle operator with alcohol occurred to those motorcycle operators with alcohol. Further, 8 percent of the fatalities in such crashes occurred to riders who were riding with the operators who had alcohol.

Table 7: Fatalities in Crashes Involving at Least One Motorcycle Operator With Alcohol, by
Role and Alcohol Involvement¹, 2003

Role	Number	Percent
Driver with alcohol	3	0.3%
Motorcycle Operator with alcohol	1,243	89.7%
Motorcycle Rider w/ Operator with alcohol	110	8.0%
Nonoccupant with alcohol	2	0.1%
Driver with no alcohol	4	0.3%
Passengers w/ Driver with no alcohol	2	0.2%
Motorcycle Operator with no alcohol	18	1.3%
Motorcycle Rider w/ Operator with no alcohol	2	0.2%
Nonoccupant with no alcohol	1	0.1%
Total	1,386	100%
1BAC is reported in FARS only for Drivers, Pedestrians, and Pedalcyclists. Source: NCSA FARS 2003 Annual Report File Note: Numbers and percentages may not add to total due to independent rounding.

2.1.3. Fatalities in Crashes in Which at Least One of the Involved Nonoccupants Had Alcohol

There were 2,146 nonoccupants with alcohol who were involved in fatal crashes, as previously depicted in table 5. There were 2,126 fatalities in such crashes. Table 8 depicts the fatalities by the role of the fatally injured person. In crashes that involved at least one nonoccupant with alcohol, more than 90 percent of the fatalities occurred to the nonoccupants who had alcohol.

Table 8: Fatalities in Crashes Involving at Least One Nonoccupant With Alcohol, by
Role and Alcohol Involvement¹, 2003

Role	Number	Percent
Driver with alcohol	13	0.6%
Passengers riding w/ Driver with alcohol	5	0.3%
Motorcycle Operator with alcohol	3	0.1%
Motorcycle Rider w/ Operator with alcohol	1	0.1%
Nonoccupant with alcohol	1964	92.4%
Driver with no alcohol	17	0.8%
Passengers w/ Driver with no alcohol	5	0.2%
Motorcycle Operator with no alcohol	3	0.1%
Motorcycle Rider w/ Operator with no alcohol	1	0.1%
Nonoccupant with no alcohol	112	5.3%
Others2	4	0.2%
Total	2,126	100%
1BAC is reported in FARS only for Drivers, Pedestrians, and Pedalcyclists. 2Includes Occupant of Motor Vehicle Not in Transport/ Occupant of a Nonmotor Vehicle Transport Device or Unknown Occupant in Motor Vehicle in Transport or Passengers in Vehicles without a Coded Driver. Source: NCSA FARS 2003 Annual Report File Note: Numbers and percentages may not add to total due to independent rounding.

The data in this section points out the fact that the majority of the persons killed in alcohol-related crashes are the persons with alcohol. The following section will deal more with the characteristics of the impaired driver/motorcycle operator and nonoccupants in greater detail.

2.2. Alcohol-Related Fatalities by Vehicle Type and Role

This section will describe the fatalities that occurred to vehicle occupants in alcohol-related crashes by the type of the vehicle in which they were riding. Of particular interest are the vehicle type and the impairment status of the driver and the passengers who were riding with them.

Table 9 depicts the fatally injured occupants by vehicle type in alcohol-related crashes in 2003.

Table 9: Vehicle Occupants Fatally Injured in Alcohol-Related Crashes by
Type of Vehicle and Alcohol Involvement, 2003

Vehicle Type	Driver with Alcohol		Passengers Riding w/ Driver with Alcohol		Driver with No Alcohol		Passengers Riding w/ Driver with No Alcohol		Total
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Passenger Cars	4,607	62%	1,781	24%	973	9%	371	5%	7,455
Vans	300	50%	147	25%	79	13%	64	11%	595
SUVs	1,137	66%	414	24%	98	6%	74	4%	1,729
Pickups	2,078	75%	498	18%	138	5%	58	2%	2,779
Large Trucks	42	52%	10	13%	24	30%	2	3%	78
Total Occupants*	8,406	65%	2,896	22%	1,020	8%	579	5%	12,921
Motorcycles	1,243	83%	110	7%	136	9%	14	1%	1,505
Source: NCSA FARS 2003 ARF * Individual components do not add up to the total as there are Unknown/Other Vehicle categories not shown here. Note: Numbers and percentages may not add to total due to independent rounding.

As seen in table 9, overall among all occupants of vehicles, about 65 percent of the fatalities occurred to drivers of these vehicles who themselves had alcohol. About 22 percent of the fatalities occurred to passengers who were riding with the drivers who had alcohol. This is true for occupants of passenger cars and SUVs. About 75 percent of all pickup truck occupant fatalities in alcohol-related crashes occurred to the drivers who had alcohol. This is reflective of the low occupancy levels of pickup trucks. Among motorcyclists, about 83 percent of the persons killed in alcohol-related crashes were the operators who themselves had alcohol.