The Effect of Ridesharing Services on Drunk Driving

Abstract

Drunk driving is a significant problem in today’s society, and the recent development of ridesharing services, like Uber, offer a new way to avoid driving under the influence. In this paper, I examine whether the presence of Uber has caused a reduction in the number of DUI violations per month in nine large American cities. I found significant evidence that uberX, the most popular and affordable form of Uber, causes a 26% reduction in DUIs in the month the service is launched. The results suggest that this effect fades quickly, although the estimates after the first month are imprecise and statistically insignificant. I suggest that a future study using the same model as this paper with a larger pool of available data would reach clearer conclusions about the overall long-term effect of ridesharing services on the number of DUI violations.