Report: Regional alcohol-impaired traffic deaths fell 26% in 2024
Alexandria recorded zero for second straight year; city's DUI arrests up 50%
Alcohol and drug-impaired traffic fatalities across the D.C. region decreased 26 percent in 2024, falling from 100 to 74 deaths, according to an annual road safety report released Monday.
Alexandria recorded no alcohol-impaired traffic fatalities for the second consecutive year, according to the How Safe Are Our Roads? report.
The report, prepared for the Washington Regional Alcohol Program by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, compiles data from the previous calendar year to allow time for verification from local police departments and state agencies. Data for 2025 will be released next December.
While no impaired-driving deaths occurred in Alexandria in 2024, total traffic fatalities in the city rose from one to six — a setback for the city’s Vision Zero initiative, which aims to eliminate fatal and severe traffic injuries by 2028.
The city’s Vision Zero Crash Dashboard, which pulls data from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, recorded zero fatal crashes in 2023 — a milestone for the program adopted by City Council in 2017. That followed four fatal crashes in 2021.
The dashboard, last updated Nov. 20, includes 2025 data through July 31 and shows two fatal crashes and 16 serious injuries so far this year.
Alexandria saw a 50 percent increase in DUI and DWI arrests in 2024, rising from 115 to 173 — the largest percentage jump among Northern Virginia jurisdictions. Alcohol-related crashes and injuries both declined slightly, with crashes dropping from 72 to 71 and injuries falling from 44 to 40.
Northern Virginia as a whole saw a 15 percent decrease in impaired-driving fatalities, dropping from 40 to 34. Fairfax County recorded 17 deaths, unchanged from the previous year. Loudoun County saw the sharpest increase in the region, rising from three fatalities to five.
Despite the decline in deaths, impaired driving-related injuries rose nearly 4 percent regionwide to 1,649, while crashes increased 2 percent to 3,731. Regional DUI and DWI arrests remained relatively stable at 8,710.
“During the holiday season, when we commonly see increases in impaired driving, it is so important that we draw attention to these completely preventable incidents and redouble our efforts across the region to save lives,” WRAP President Kurt Erickson said.
See the full report here - How Safe Are Our Roads? 2024 Data Report (December 2025).