DUI arrests in the US declined by about 2 percent between 1998 and 2007 overall, according to statistics by the FBI (PDF). That's not much but at least it's not increasing. The real story, however, is the marked increase of DUIs among women.
While drunk driving arrests among men actually decreased by 7.5 percent during the 10-year period ending 2007, DUI arrests spiked by a whopping 28.8 percent among women.
Why such a surge among female drivers?
That's hard to say. These statistics and additional information provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, summarized by an Automotive Fleet article, don't really explain the why.
On the bright side, Illinois was not among the 10 states that saw an increase in the number of female drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes, according to an NHTSA report (PDF). In fact, Illinois experienced a decline among both female and male alcohol-impaired drivers between 2007 and 2008, according to statistics.
Regardless, the nationwide trend over at least the past decade is an alarmingly greater number of DUI arrests among women. So in the absence of a solid explanation, perhaps it makes more sense to take extra precautions to avoid adding to that trend.
At the risk of stereotyping, it's important to understand that many of those sweet and fruity mixed drinks frequently enjoyed at holiday parties have at least as much alcohol as their more "masculine" counterparts. Let's face it, women are more likely to order a cosmopolitan than a scotch on the rocks, although the cosmo contains at least two shots of vodka (Wikibooks).
It will take more than an hour for a woman of average weight to process the alcohol and she may down them much quicker because they don't exactly taste like alcohol.
Also, as I just eluded to, the average woman is smaller than the average man, thus becoming intoxicated much quicker than the average man.
But why DUI arrests among women have increased so much is tougher to explain, especially since much of it has to do with the actions of the arresting officers as well.
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Women and Substance Abuse (About.com)
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Do DUI Laws Discriminate Against Women? (The Auto Channel)
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Directory of Chicago DUI lawyers (FindLaw)
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