Are Alcohol-impaired driving crashes caused by repeat offenders?

 Jeff  : I was just caught for impaired driving crash? I am aftaid that I would be considered a repeated offender? Is it true that alcohol-imparied driving crashes caused by repeat offenders? Are the auto insurance rates for repeated offenders different?

Repsonse : Jeff, I would not worry much if you are strong willed and have taken the right measures so that this would never happen to you again. It is not uncommon to have one impared driving offence.

No. It is true that people with prior convictions for driving while impaired by alcohol are overrepresented among drivers in fatal crashes. According to a federal study, drivers convicted of alcohol-impaired driving during the past 3 years are at least 1.8 times as likely to be in fatal crashes as drivers with no prior convictions during the same time period and are at least 4 times as likely to be in fatal crashes in which drivers have high BACs (0.10 percent or higher).¹³

However, in 2007 only 8 percent of drivers in fatal crashes with high BACs (0.08 percent or higher) had previous alcohol-impaired driving convictions on their records. The actual incidence of previous convictions could be higher, because information on convictions was available for only the prior 3 years. In addition, some alcohol offenses are not included on driver records because of court programs that allow drivers to remove or avoid a conviction if they attend educational programs. Still, most alcohol-impaired driving fatal crashes do not involve drivers with a long history of multiple alcohol convictions.

Repeated offenders might have their license cancelled and so will not be able to drive. DUI might be asked to apply for DUI insurance and SR22 car insurance.