OBJECTIVE

Driving under the influence (DUI) of substances increases motor vehicle crash risk. Understanding current national trends of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA), cannabis (DUIC), and drugs other than cannabis (DUID) can inform public health efforts. Herein, we provide updated trends among United States (US) adults regarding DUIA, DUIC, DUID, and DUI of any substance.

METHOD

We used nationally-representative National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2016-2020) data to derive prevalence estimates of past-year DUIC, DUIA, DUID, and DUI of any substance among non-institutionalized US adults and among those reporting respective past-year  substance use. Prevalence estimates and adjusted logistic regressions characterized temporal trends of these behaviors among US adults, among those with respective past-year substance use, and among stratified demographic subpopulations.

RESULTS

Over 1 in 10 US adults reported DUI of any substance annually from 2016 to 2020.DUIA was most prevalent among all US adults (8.7% in 2017); however, this behavior is decreasing (AOR:0.96; 95%CI:0.94,0.98). No change in DUIC among the US adult population was found, but a decrease was found among those with past-year cannabis use (AOR:0.95; 95%CI:0.93,0.98), which coincided with a 29.1% increase in past-year cannabis use. There were no significant changes in overall DUID; however, females, those ages 26-34 and 65 or older with past-year use displayed increasing trends. DUI of any substance decreased among the US adult population.

CONCLUSIONS

DUI remains a salient public health concern in the US and results indicate population subgroups who may benefit from impaired driving prevention interventions.