An estimated 5,620 drink-drive accidents took place in Great Britain in 2014, according to data published by the Department for Transport (DfT); an equivalent of 15 accidents a day.
The accidents resulted in 240 deaths, representing 14% of all deaths on the roads, with 8,220 casualties in total.
The number of drink-drive injuries has fallen during the past three decades. Since 1985, the overall number of people killed or injured in road accidents has decreased by 70%, while the number of drink-drive deaths have fallen by 77%.
However, the number of fatalities has reached a plateau since 2010.
Data for 2013 shows that men accounted for 67% of all casualties, rising to 74% in terms of victims killed or seriously injured.
Younger people are also particularly affected. People aged 16 to 24 represented 29% of all casualties, and 31% of the most seriously injured.
Figures from the ONS Crime Survey provide further details on the extent of drinking behind the wheel in England and Wales.
More than 6% of drivers said they had driven at least once in 2014-15 when they thought they may be over the legal alcohol limit. This proportion rises to 8.1% for males, compared with 4.2% for females.
Young people are more likely to drive under the influence of alcohol, particularly those aged 25 to 29, while under-25s have the highest ratio of drink-drive accidents per miles driven.
The DfT defines a drink-drive accident as a reported incident in which at least one driver of a motor vehicle is over the drink-drive limit, and in which someone is injured or killed. Estimates of drink-drive casualties and deaths for 2014 are provisional.
