Driving under the influence

Driving under the influence is an offense category involving operation of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol, drugs, or another substance covered by the applicable law. DUI, DWI, and impaired driving are related labels, but their precise legal meanings and thresholds vary by jurisdiction.

A specific classification

NCSBI's NIBRS definition describes operation while mentally or physically impaired through alcohol or drug consumption. It places the category apart from drug/narcotic offenses. That statistical separation prevents a general “drug offenses” heading from automatically including impaired driving. NCSBI definitions

The definition is a national reporting framework, not a complete statement of any state's law. A state's offense may address impairment, a prohibited substance concentration, or other defined circumstances. The dataset's statute field, if available, provides more specificity than the short category label.

In the FBI's 2025.0 NIBRS manual, DUI is a Group B offense, for which reporting is generally based on arrests rather than a detailed Group A incident report. A NIBRS DUI arrest total therefore should not be labeled the total number of impaired-driving episodes that occurred. FBI NIBRS manual

Example

Hypothetical example: A traffic stop leads to an arrest recorded under an agency's impaired-driving code. The public arrest table includes the event in its DUI category. The traffic-stop file separately includes the original stop and its reason.

Those are two records about connected activity, rather than evidence of two impaired-driving incidents. The arrest entry also does not establish a later conviction. If the person contests the charge or the court enters a different disposition, the original enforcement record and the court outcome remain separate stages.

Common confusion

A traffic collision does not establish impairment, and impairment need not result in a collision. A medical call for an impaired person is not automatically a driving offense. Likewise, a field noting suspected alcohol use in another crime is not itself a DUI classification.

Arrest data may use reporting rules that include specified citations or summonses. Readers should check the program's definition before assuming every record represents a person physically taken to jail.

Using totals responsibly

Identify whether the publication counts stops, arrests, charges, or court outcomes. Specify the included substance categories if the source separates them. Comparisons also need consistent geography, coverage, and dates: arrest date and collision date can place connected records in different reporting periods. No single DUI table measures all impaired driving or the share of drivers who are impaired.

Related terms

• Traffic stop
• Traffic collision
• Drug offense
• Group B offense

Sources

• NCSBI offense definitions — DUI definition and drug-category distinction.
• FBI NIBRS manual, version 2025.0 — Group B arrest reporting and arrest-type definitions.