DUI incidents decrease in DC area, but drunk driving deaths increase

WASHINGTON (ABC7) — A new report shows that although DUI-related incidents went down in the DC area, DUI-related deaths went way up.

The findings were part of an annual report by the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) and compared 2017 drug and alcohol-related driving incidents with 2016.

The report found that in 2017 DUI-related crashes were down about 2.5% in the DC area, while injuries were down about 7% and arrests fell about 8%.

But the bad news was fatalities – DUI-related deaths jumped about 46% in 2017, going from 59 in 2016 to 86.

The president of WRAP says there is no easy answer as to why fatalities went up so much.

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He encourages drivers to report anyone they suspect is driving drunk to police.