LOS ANGELES (CBS) — For the 15th year in a row, the Automobile Club of Southern California will offer free towing during the Fourth of July weekend in an attempt to keep drunken drivers off the road, beginning Saturday.

The Tipsy Tow program will be available to intoxicated drivers beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday and continuing until 11:59 p.m. Monday in the 13 counties served by the Auto Club.

Motorists, bartenders, restaurant managers,party hosts or passengers of a drinking driver can call (800) 400-4AAA for a free tow to the driver’s residence of up to seven miles away.

Callers should tell operators they want a Tipsy Tow, and a tow truck under contract to the Auto Club will be dispatched.

The service does not include rides for passengers and is restricted to a one-way, one-time ride for the driver. For distances longer than seven miles, drivers will be expected to pay the normal rate charged by the tow truck operator.

A first-time drunken driving conviction can cost $12,176 or more in fines, penalties, restitution, legal fees and increased insurance costs, according to the Auto Club.

All 50 states in the US and Puerto Rico now apply two statutory offenses to driving under the influence of alcohol. The first (and original) offense is known either as driving under the influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated/impaired (DWI), or operating [a motor vehicle] while intoxicated/impaired (OWI). This is based upon a police officer’s observations (driving behavior, slurred speech, the results of a roadside sobriety test, etc.)

The second offense is called “illegal per se”, which is driving with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.08 g/dL or higher. Since 2002 it has been illegal in all 50 states to drive with a BAC that is 0.08 or higher. Drivers are considered to be alcohol-impaired when their BAC is .08 or higher.

Alcohol-related deaths in the US since 1982:

Drinking and driving fatalities by state in 2008 (ranked by highest number of alcohol-related* deaths):

State	Total Fatalities	Alcohol-Related Fatalities
		Number	Percent
Texas	3,382	1,463	43
California	3,434	1,198	35
Florida	2,978	1,041	35
Pennsylvania	1,468	578	39
North Carolina	1,433	500	35
Georgia	1,493	489	33
South Carolina	920	463	50
Illinois	1,043	434	42
Ohio	1,190	415	35
New York	1,231	409	33
Louisiana	912	404	44
Tennessee	1,035	386	37
Alabama	966	367	38
Virginia	824	365	44
Missouri	960	364	38
Michigan	980	331	34
Arizona	937	329	35
Mississippi	783	297	38
Oklahoma	749	274	37
Indiana	814	250	31
Wisconsin	605	250	41
Kentucky	826	226	27
Washington	521	225	43
Arkansas	600	205	34
Colorado	548	202	37
New Jersey	590	197	33
Maryland	591	186	31
Minnesota	456	161	35
Oregon	416	159	38
Kansas	385	157	41
Massachusetts	363	151	42
West Virginia	380	142	37
Nevada	324	121	37
New Mexico	366	118	32
Iowa	412	113	27
Connecticut	264	104	40
Montana	229	103	45
Idaho	232	93	40
Nebraska	208	75	36
Wyoming	159	75	47
Utah	275	55	20
New Hampshire	139	53	38
North Dakota	104	52	50
Hawaii	107	50	46
Delaware	121	49	40
Maine	155	47	30
South Dakota	119	41	34
Rhode Island	65	29	45
Alaska	62	24	38
Vermont	73	15	21
Dist of Columbia	34	13	39
National	37,261	13,846	37
Puerto Rico	399	162	41

The table below shows alcohol-impaired** motor vehicle fatalities in the US for 2008.

State	Total Fatalities*	BAC=.08+
	Number	Number	Percent
Texas	3,382	1,269	38
California	3,434	1,029	30
Florida	2,978	875	29
Pennsylvania	1,468	496	34
North Carolina	1,433	423	30
Georgia	1,493	416	28
South Carolina	920	403	44
Illinois	1,043	362	35
Ohio	1,190	356	30
New York	1,231	341	28
Louisiana	912	338	37
Tennessee	1,035	327	32
Alabama	966	315	33
Virginia	824	294	36
Missouri	960	310	32
Michigan	980	282	29
Arizona	937	266	28
Mississippi	783	266	34
Oklahoma	749	244	33
Indiana	814	208	26
Wisconsin	605	208	34
Kentucky	826	200	24
Washington	521	182	35
Arkansas	600	171	28
Colorado	548	173	32
New Jersey	590	154	26
Maryland	591	152	26
Minnesota	456	135	30
Oregon	416	136	33
Kansas	385	145	38
Massachusetts	363	124	34
West Virginia	380	128	34
Nevada	324	107	33
New Mexico	366	105	29
Iowa	412	89	22
Connecticut	264	86	32
Montana	229	91	40
Idaho	232	78	34
Nebraska	208	55	27
Wyoming	159	67	42
Utah	275	46	17
New Hampshire	139	45	32
North Dakota	104	47	46
Hawaii	107	42	39
Delaware	121	45	37
Maine	155	43	28
South Dakota	119	34	29
Rhode Island	65	25	38
Alaska	62	21	33
Vermont	73	12	16
Dist of Columbia	34	9	26
National	37,261	11,773	32
Puerto Rico	399	132	33

 

*According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “A motor vehicle crash is considered to be alcohol-related if at least one driver or non-occupant (such as a pedestrian or pedalcyclist) involved in the crash is determined to have had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .01 gram per deciliter (g/dL) or higher. Thus, any fatality that occurs in an alcohol-related crash is considered an alcohol-related fatality. The term ‘alcohol-related’ does not indicate that a crash or fatality was caused by the presence of alcohol.”

**A driver involved in a motor vehicle crash is considered alcohol-impaired if he or she exhibits a BAC of .08 or greater.