The number of alcohol and/or drug-related traffic fatalities increased nearly 13 percent in the metropolitan Washington area between 2021 and 2022, according to the annual “How Safe Are Our Roads?” Report prepared by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) for the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP).

“This report shows a troubling trend in impaired driving in the region. These actions have dire consequences for our entire community. 96 individuals lost their lives in 2022 due to crashes involving alcohol and/or drug-impaired drivers.” said WRAP President Kurt Erickson. “While three of the last five years have shown lower than average alcohol and drug-related traffic fatalities for the region, we still have much more work to do.”

Findings from the report include:

• Fatalities: Regional alcohol and/or drug-impaired traffic fatalities increased by 12.94 percent between 2021 and 2022 (from 85 to 96 fatalities).
• Injuries: Regional alcohol and/or drug-related traffic injuries increased 9.54 percent between 2021 and 2022 (from 1,489 to 1,631 injuries).
• Crashes: Regional traffic crashes attributed to alcohol and/or drugs increased 13.70 percent between 2021 and 2022 (from 3,694 to 3,853 crashes).
• Arrests: Local arrests for either driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while impaired (DWI) decreased 9.3 percent between 2021 and 2022 (from 10,248 to 9,295 arrests).

Twenty-seven percent of the metropolitan Washington region’s 350 total traffic fatalities for 2022 involved alcohol and/or drug-impaired drivers. Three of the last five years have had less alcohol and/or drug-impaired traffic crashes than the regional average.

As of the date of publication, national alcohol-impaired fatality rates for 2022 were still unavailable. The report will be updated to show national traffic fatalities due to drivers who were alcohol and/or drug impaired when that data is available.

MORE: View the “How Safe are our Roads?” Report.