Drivers are regularly stopped by officers who ask them if they’ve been drinking. Some of those drivers are asked to take sobriety tests. And some of those drivers are arrested for driving under the influence.
According to law enforcement officers across the U.S., they are beginning to notice a new trend: a growing number of women are being arrested for DUI.
According to a wave of new studies, there has been a surge in alcohol abuse among women. Government statistics show that 39 percent of young women now engage in binge drinking, which is a 30 percent increase since 1979.
Despite groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, more women who drink are getting behind the wheel.
Researchers say that even though statistics still show that men drink more than women and are responsible for more DUI cases, the difference is shrinking. In 2007, the number of women arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was 28.8 percent higher than in 1998. The number of men arrested in 2007 was 7.5 percent lower than in 1998, according to FBI figures that cover about 56 percent of the U.S.
