Government study: 1 in 12 drivers admit driving drunk

One in 12 drivers admitted driving drunk at least once over the course of a year, a government survey released Wednesday found.

One in five, or 20% of the 6,999 people surveyed, said they had driven in the past year within two hours of drinking an alcoholic beverage. Yet an overwhelming majority — four out of five people — consider drinking and driving a major threat to their safety, according to the 2008 survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The federal government is spending $13 million in television and radio ads, mostly at sporting events, to get the message out, Strickland said.

"If you drive drunk, you will be arrested," he said.

About a third of all fatal vehicle crashes in the USA involve a drunken driver, Department of Transportation statistics show.