Alcohol is a major factor in traffic collisions, fatalities and injuries. There is an alcohol-related traffic fatality every 31 minutes and an alcohol-related traffic injury every two minutes in the United States.

Arizona has been a law-enforcement leader in cracking down on drunk drivers. Arizona established its first DUI Task Force in 1986. Since then another 15 have been formed in Arizona. Each utilizes a number of law-enforcement techniques to reduce the carnage caused by drunk drivers, including Sobriety Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols. 

The efforts of the DUI Task Force, and the media's cooperation in publicizing their efforts, have dramatically reduced the number of alcohol-related crashes in Arizona. In 2000, for instance, 8,048 collisions were alcohol-related and 7,087 people were injured. In 2006, the number of alcohol-related crashes had fallen to 7,693 and the number of injuries to 5,534. (See chart below). These reductions occured even while Arizona was experiencing unprecedented population growth; vehicle registrations had increased from 3,983,860 in 2000 to 4,748,957 in 2006.