DWI Fact #10: Summing it all up. DWI is expensive, not only to you, if convicted, but to the taxpayers. Drunk driving costs the U.S. approximately $132 billion a year (MADD). Including costs for medical treatment, work loss, public services, court fees and loss of quality of life, drunk driving deaths and injuries have cost Texans well over $50 billion since 2006 (Pacific Institute for Research). The statistics get even more frightening: the average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before first arrest and approximately 1/3 of all drivers arrested or convicted of DWI are repeat offenders (MADD). Don’t be a statistic! Never, EVER drive under the influence. Use a designated driver or take a cab. In the case of drunk driving, it is always better to be safe than sorry!