Ride-Sharing Numbers Add Up When Driver's Cost Could Be DUI or Accident

Does having easy access to Uber help to reduce the rates of driving under the influence?Common sense and anecdotal evidence suggest that the answer is 100 percent, yes. When the economic and societal costs of an accident and the personal expense of a conviction on driving while under the influence are weighed against a one-time credit card charge, the choice is clearer.

Logic dictates that having ride sharing apps at the tip of everyone's fingers would substantially cut the rate of drunk or buzzed driving. The power to summon a sober driver with the touch of a smartphone for a reasonable price would lead most reasonable people to guess that DUI (DWI in some states) rates have fallen substantially across the nation. However, a closer look at the available studies seem to paint a murkier picture as to the effects of ride-sharing as it relates to DUI rates.

Local factors such as state laws and access to public transportation can make this a hard case to prove one way or another. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in October 2017 studied four major U.S. cities that suspended ride-sharing services and then reinstated them. In Portland, Oregon, automobile crashes where alcohol played a role plunged 62 percent. Yet, there was no overall change in all other injury-related crashes.