Drunk driving incidents hit a 20-year low last year and have fallen 30 percent in the past five years. The Centers for Disease Control ("CDC") estimated that U.S. drivers drove drunk 112 million times in 2010 -- down from 161 million drunk driving incidents in 2006. The CDC surveyed about 210,000 adults by telephone. The survey revealed that most DUI incidents involved drivers who had four or five drinks in quick succession and that male drivers age 21 to 34 accounted for 32 percent of drunk driving incidents. Overall, males take the wheel after drinking far more often than females: four out of five people who drive drunk are men. Some of the people who were surveyed said they drove drunk virtually every day, but 60 percent said they had driven after drinking only once. Almost one in 50 respondents said they had driven drunk within the 30 days prior to the survey. The CDC also offers information on the effects of driving after drinking. According to the agency, drivers experience loss of judgment after just two beers. They may have difficulty steering after three beers and trouble controlling their speed after four. After five beers, a driver's reaction time is markedly slower, and drivers have trouble staying in their lane. Drivers have serious difficulty focusing on driving after seven beers. Another federal agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, also noted the decline of drunk driving incidents among Americans. The number of deaths resulting from alcohol-related car accidents was nearly 10 percent lower in 2009 than it was in 2008. Related

Resource: Washington Post, "Drunk driving seems to be going down, says CDC study based on anonymous survey" Oct. 4, 2011 T