(Sources: Illinois Department of Transportation Division of Traffic Safety and the Illinois Secretary of State)

• 425 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in Illinois in 2008. More than 50,000 DUI arrests were recorded by the Secretary of State's office. 
• In Illinois, the average offender is male (80% of all DUI arrests), age 34 (61% of those arrested are under the age of 35) and is arrested between the hours of 11pm and 4am with a B.A.C. of .16 (twice the legal limit).             
• The average cost of a DUI conviction in Illinois is $14,660.00. Note: This does not include medical expenses, compensatory damages awarded to crash survivors, in-patient substance abuse programs or legal fees for trials and civil proceedings. These costs can add up to over $100,000.00!
• The penalties for DUI differ if you are under age 21. Illinois has a zero tolerance law for all drivers under age 21. Any trace of alcohol in any underage driver’s system constitutes a violation and graduated penalties are applied.
• Illinois has a two-tiered system that establishes stricter penalities for individuals arrested for driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .16 or greater.
• Illinois also has tougher penalties for those individuals who drive under the influence with a minor child (under age 16) in the car.

   

  2007 National DUI Facts

   

  • Alcohol-related crash fatalities in 2007 totaled 14,619 — the equivalent of

  three passenger cruise ships filled to capacity.

  • Drivers with a BAC of more than .08 who were killed in crashes were 10 times

  as likely to have a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated.

  • Six states (Illinois, New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana, Washington and

  Nebraska) require a first-time DUI offender to have a Breath Alcohol Interlock

  Device (BAIID) installed on his or her vehicle. Only four states (South Dakota,

  Alabama, Vermont and Maine) have no BAIID law for DUI offenders.