Data Provider: NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services
Civic Engagement
The young adult arrest rate for driving while intoxicated (DWI) is defined as the number of arrests for driving while intoxicated per 10,000 young adults aged 18 through 24 in that county. The data shown are counts of fingerprinted arrests for drunk driving.
The use of alcohol impairs vision, cognitive judgment, coordination and motor skills and can inhibit short term memory and the ability to concentrate. Even at a very low blood alcohol content such as .02-.03, alcohol impairs the ability to attend and respond to complex stimuli, such as road and traffic conditions, speed, traffic control devices, lane position, pedestrians, other vehicles, roadway signs, etc. (Brick, 1996). Youth have less driving experience than adults which, compounded with alcohol, puts youth at an increased risk of auto accidents, injury and death.
Community indicators are not direct measures of the population's behavior, but are instead measures of the performance of the community service systems that generate them. Indicator data produced by public service or social control agencies are affected by policy shifts, resource fluctuations, degree of centralization and standardization, local reporting practices and local service delivery differences.
Local qualitative information regarding the "role" of the indicator in the context of its service setting must be obtained and applied when interpreting the results of indicator-based studies. The young adult arrest rate for driving while intoxicated is a direct measure of law enforcement response to underage drinking and drunk driving and is an indirect measure of young adult alcohol use in the population.
In 2020, arrests declined following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. When comparing trends in 2020 to previous years, caution should be used.
Brick, John. 1996. Facts on: Driving While Intoxicated. Fact Sheet Number 5 (2). Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies.