A new survey from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that as many as 17 million people, or roughly eight percent of all drivers, have driven drunk at least once in the last year. The survey results were released just as the United States Department of Transportation was launching the annual “Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest” campaign, which is meant to keep drunk drivers off the roads.

Further results from the NHTSA study reveal that:

• Four out of five Americans list drunk driving as a “major threat” to the safety of their families and themselves.
• Roughly twenty percent of Americans have driven within two hours of drinking alcohol in the past year.
• Those who admit to driving drunk tend to drink more regularly than those who drink but wait to drive.
• More than a quarter of all drinking drivers – 28% – consume alcoholic beverages three or more days a week, while only 10% of those who drink but do not drive afterwards do so.

The national anti-drunk driving campaign includes law enforcement crackdowns that will involve thousands of police agencies from around the country, and will run through Labor Day (Monday, September 6th). In addition to law enforcement efforts there is also a $13 million media blitz on radio and television.

In a statement to the press, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “Drunk driving is deadly, it’s against the law, and unfortunately, it’s still a problem. With the help of law enforcement around the country, we are going to continue doing all that we can to stop drunk driving and the needless tragedies that result from this reckless behavior.”

NHTSA Administrator David Strickland also spoke, saying, “Our message is loud and clear. If you drive drunk you will be arrested and prosecuted. There will be no exceptions and no excuses. And if you’re below the age of 21, there is zero tolerance for any alcohol in your system whatsoever. That’s why we’re out there with law enforcement, tackling this major safety issue head on.”

Strickland brought up serious concerns about the rate of drunk driving among younger drivers, especially younger male drivers. While the number of 16 to 20-year-old respondents who admitted to drinking and driving in the survey was low, those who acknowledged the behavior said they drank more than five alcoholic beverages in a single sitting. While that rate of drinking was not limited to only drinking before driving the NHTSA feels that this means young drivers who drink are likely drinking more heavily than adult drivers.

This survey was conducted in 2008 via telephone calls to 6,999 participants, aged sixteen and over, with a higher than average proportion of drivers under the age of twenty-four.