Drunk driving (Drink driving in theUK andAustralia) is the act of driving amotorvehicle (car,truck, etc.) while under the effects ofalcohol. Drunk driving isillegal in most areas of the world. In some places, driving a motorless vehicle such as abicycle while drunk is also illegal.
Mostareas that make laws (jurisdictions) started with DWI (driving whileintoxicated) laws, banning just alcohol. Later, most changed them to DUI (driving under theinfluence) laws, adding otherdrugs to those banned while driving. The most commonblood alcohol content (BAC) limit in theUnited States is 0.08% for the legal meaning of drunk. Only three states still use the more lax, original standard of 0.10%. Many jurisdictions add extrapenalties (more jail time and/or a longerDUI program) in cases where the driver's BAC is over 0.20%.
The first place in theUnited States to adopt laws against drunk driving was thestate ofNew York in1910, withCalifornia (1911) and others doing the same later. Early laws simply banned driving while drunk, with no mention of what BAC was banned (which means how drunk the person is). The state of Georgia was one of the last states to make laws against drunk driving. One of the years with the most alcohol related crashes was 1982. The year 1982 had 26,173 alcohol related deaths due to drunk driving.
In the US, most of the laws were greatly tightened in the early1980s, largely due to pressure from groups like Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and Young Adults Educating Responsible Drinking.