“While higher-risk drivers are a small portion of the population, they pose a significant threat to innocent motorists. On a typical weekend night, only one percent of drivers have a BAC of .15 or higher, but high BAC drivers were involved in over one-half of all alcohol-related traffic deaths ... And, about one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of DUI are repeat offenders.” – Wendy Hamilton, former MADD president, May 2003

MADD looks at three groups as “higher-risk drivers” – drivers who are the bulk of the drunk driving problem and are even more dangerous than a traditional offender:

• High-BAC offenders (link to high-BAC research section): Those people who drive at a .15 BAC or higher. This is nearly twice the illegal limit and despite these drivers clearly being far too drunk to drive, they are responsible for over half of all alcohol-related crash fatalities. Click here to learn more.
• Repeat offenders (link to repeat offender research section): Those people who have previous drunk driving convictions. They represent about one-third of all drunk driving arrests, crashes, and fatalities. Click here to learn more.
• Those who drive while their license is suspended or revoked for drunk driving (link to DWS research section): About 50 to 75 percent of those who have their license suspended for drunk driving continue to drive anyway. Click here to learn more.

These offenders need greater sanctions to help deter them from driving drunk again and to treat any underlying issues they may have with alcohol.