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ILLINOIS SECRETARY OF STATE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- May 3, 2001
- CONTACT: Dave Druker
- PHONE: (217) 782-5984
- (312)
814-3175
or
- CONTACT: Randy Nehrt
- PHONE: (217) 782-5984
- TTY: 1-800-252-2904
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White Puts DUI Fact Book on Internet for First Time
SPRINGFIELD –– For the first time, the Secretary of State's DUI Fact Book is on the Internet at www.cyberdriveillinois.com, Secretary of State Jesse White announced today. The Fact Book is a compilation of facts, statistics and information about the status of drunk driving in Illinois.
"The DUI Fact Book always has been a good reference tool for the media and various advocacy groups," said White, "but now it is instantly available to everyone."
In Illinois in 1999, 637 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes, which was 43.8 percent of the 1,456 total crash fatalities. There were 48,587 DUI arrests reported to the Secretary of State's office.
"These statistics represent an increase in fatalities and a decrease in arrests from 1998," said White. "This points out the need for even tougher DUI legislation and the importance of passing my traffic safety proposal (House Bills 2265 and 2266) aimed at drunk drivers and drivers without valid licenses. The Illinois House and the Senate Judiciary Committee have approved both bills.
"Now in the full Senate for consideration, the legislation targets the most dangerous and irresponsible drivers on our roads. It penalizes those people who get behind the wheel at double the illegal limit, drive drunk with a child in the car or continue to drive after their license has been taken away."
The average DUI offender is:
- male (85 percent of those arrested are men)
- 34 years old (57 percent of those arrested are under 35)
- arrested between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. on a weekend
- caught driving with a BAC level of .16 percent
The DUI Fact Book outlines the chronology of a DUI arrest, provides the penalties for a DUI conviction, and outlines the painstaking process of applying for driver's license reinstatement following a revocation.
The Fact Book also outlines the underage drinking problem in Illinois and the number of "Use It & Lose It"/Zero Tolerance violations by county.
In the area of Victims' Rights, DUI-related (including reckless homicide) crash victims and families are encouraged to send a written request to the Department of Administrative Hearings so they can be notified of the offender's driver's license hearings.
"I am pleased to make the DUI Fact Book available to the public on my Web site," said White. "This gives me the opportunity to inform more people about the drunk driving problem in Illinois."
ILLINOIS CRASH FATALITIES
|
YEAR |
CRASH
FATALITIES |
ALCOHOL-RELATED
CRASH
FATALITIES |
PERCENT
ALCOHOL-RELATED
|
| |
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1982 |
1,651 |
968 |
58.6%
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1983 |
1,526 |
879 |
57.6%
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1984 |
1,547 |
866 |
56.0%
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1985 |
1,534 |
823 |
53.7%
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1986 |
1,596 |
845 |
53.0%
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1987 |
1,654 |
828 |
50.1%
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1988 |
1,837 |
912 |
49.7%
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1989 |
1,748 |
890 |
50.9%
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1990 |
1,589 |
802 |
50.5%
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1991 |
1,448 |
731 |
50.5%
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1992 |
1,384 |
671 |
48.6%
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1993 |
1,392 |
630 |
45.2%
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1994 |
1,554 |
656 |
42.2%
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1995 |
1,586 |
682 |
42.9%
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1996 |
1,477 |
665 |
45.0%
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1997 |
1,395 |
587 |
42.1%
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1998
1999 |
1,393
1,456 |
601
637 |
43.1%
43.8% |
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Traffic Safety; October 2000
DRIVERS ARRESTED FOR DUI
| YEAR | | ARRESTS |
| | | |
| 1986 | | 55,104 |
| 1987 | | 51,797 |
| 1988 | | 48,656 |
| 1990 | | 49,405 |
| 1991 | | 48,609 |
| 1992 | | 47,941 |
| 1993 | | 46,128 |
| 1994 | | 43,547 |
| 1995 | | 44,433 |
| 1996 | | 44,710 |
| 1997 | | 47,034 |
| 1998 | | 49,547 |
| 1999 | | 48,587 |
Traffic Safety ; December 2000
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