A Safer Salt Lake City

Everyday, nearly 300,000 people in the U.S. drive drunk. In 2012 alone, there were over 13,000 DUI arrests in Utah, and in 2011, there were 69 fatalities relating to an impaired driving accident. This is a stark reality, but one we can change for the better.

When people have a safe, reliable, and affordable alternative to drinking and driving, fewer people will drive drunk. Let’s take a look at some data to understand why.

We know that the majority of DUI fatalities occur at night, and 8pm to midnight is the peak period for alcohol-related incidents. When we compare that data to the distribution of Uber trip requests over a 24-hour timespan, what we see is that requests spike at night and when alcohol-related incidents are most likely to occur.

By taking a closer look at weekend data in Salt Lake City, we see that trip requests spike tremendously between 1AM and 2AM. Keeping in mind that bars in Salt Lake City close at 2AM, the data reveals that users rely on Uber to get them home from the bar safely. Given the late-night reliability, it’s clear that Uber is helping to take drunk drivers off the road.

A recent report conducted in partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) reveals that when empowered with more transportation options like Uber, people are making better choices that save lives. 78% of all respondents to a survey agreed that friends are less likely to drive drunk since the arrival of ridesharing services like Uber in their city. And 93% of all respondents said they would recommend a friend take Uber instead of driving if they had been drinking.

Drunk driving affects everyone who shares the road, and we all have a role to play in making it a thing of the past. While a great deal of work remains, we are making progress — together — towards the goal of reliable rides and safer roads for everyone.