Are men or women more likely to face DUI charges?

You can get charged with a DUI regardless of your gender, age, race or any other factors. If you drive while intoxicated, it’s a violation of motor vehicle laws in Kentucky.

That said, some individuals are more likely to face charges than others. You may be wondering about the role that gender plays. Are DUI charges more common for men or for women?

The statistics make it rather clear that men are involved in drunk driving incidents more often than women. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) notes that men take more risks on the road, and one of the examples they give is driving under the influence.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) backs this up. When looking at deadly DUI crashes, for instance, they also say that it’s more common for men to be involved than it is for women. The 2018 statistics indicate that about 14% of women involved in these fatal accidents were intoxicated, but 21% of men fall into the same category. That’s roughly 50% more, a fairly significant increase.

One contributing issue could just be who tends to drive more often. If an opposite-sex couple goes to the bar and both are intoxicated, is the man or the woman more likely to drive the car on the way home? If men drive more often, they’re naturally going to be exposed to more potential DUI incidents even if drinking habits between genders are otherwise the same.

Those who get arrested on DUI charges need to make sure they know about all of their legal defense options.