Impaired driving

Impaired driving is also known as driving under the influence, operating under the influence or driving while intoxicated. While it can include impairment from many types of drugs, the leading concern is driving and alcohol use. Every year, intoxicated drivers are involved in tens of thousands of crashes nationwide, causing thousands of deaths. Because of this severity, enforcement of impaired driving is very strong and legal consequences can be severe.

By the numbers

• According to NHTSA, more than 13,000 people are killed in drunk-driving crashes annually.
• Nearly one person is killed in the U.S. every 39 minutes in a drunk-driving crash. 
• There were 140 people killed in alcohol-impaired crashes in Connecticut in 2022.

Laws

You are considered legally intoxicated if your blood alcohol level (BAC) is 0.08 or higher. This is typically determined through a breathalyzer test administered roadside or in a police station. If you’re 21 or younger, the legal limit is just 0.02. Many people don’t realize that your BAC could reach the legal limit after just one drink in some cases. Also, you can be charged with driving under the influence with a lower BAC if you fail a roadside sobriety test.

Penalties

In Connecticut, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol is a criminal offense. You’re not just given a ticket. You are arrested, your car is towed and you may be kept in police lock-up until you are bailed out.

Penalties for DUI are severe and vary depending on your age and number of offenses in your past.
Penalties may include:

• Losing your license for months or even years
• Serving probation
• Fines and court fees in the thousands of dollars
• Mandatory ignition interlock – a breathalyzer type device installed in your vehicle that you must blow into to start the engine
• Harsher criminal charges including manslaughter if involved in a fatal crash

Drive to save lives – what we’re doing

Along with other countermeasures, HSO’s public awareness campaigns drive impaired driving awareness and prevention. These campaigns are seen and heard by millions of Connecticut residents every year, expressing both the dangers and the legal consequences of impaired driving.

• Campaign research included focus groups and interviews with key demographics, exploring attitudes toward impaired driving, why they do it and what would make them stop.
• Campaigns include Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving and several holiday specific themes.
• Campaigns often run during national “crack down” periods and during holidays that see increased traffic and alcohol consumption. 
  
• Advertising includes television, radio, internet, billboards and bus panels, stadium/arena signage, social media posts, streaming TV and video game placements. 
• Ads target those over-represented in alcohol-related crashes, including 21 to 34-year-old males. Campaigns also include Spanish language ads and placements.
• To supplement paid advertising, we garner significant press coverage through frequent press conferences and by inviting journalists to live checkpoints and DUI patrol ride-alongs. 

On The Line

HSO’s latest impaired driving campaign called “On The Line,” makes drivers think about how much one DUI really effects.

Your comfort zone is a DUI zone: "Comfort Zones"

This campaign addresses the commonly held belief that it’s safe to drive drunk if you are in familiar surroundings or close to home.

Healthcare heroes: "Not one more"

A desperate plea from first responders and health care leaders to not let one more life be lost to impaired driving.