The share of fatal car crashes in Utah that involved drunken drivers dropped by 22 percent last year, according to an annual report given to the Legislature on Wednesday.

"That’s good news. But still, 25 Utahns died in DUI-related crashes," Mary Lou Emerson, director of the Utah Substance Abuse Council, told the Transportation Interim Committee.

Also, one person every four hours is impaired or injured in DUI-related accidents, said Anna Kay Waddoups, chair of the council’s DUI Committee and wife of Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville.

Still, the percentage of fatal crashes that were DUI-related dropped from 12.7 percent in 2009 to 9.9 percent last year, according to the report.

Also, it said the DUI-related fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled decreased from 0.12 in 2009 to 0.09 in 2010.

Meanwhile, DUI arrests also dropped by nearly 10 percent in the year. They decreased from 15,285 in 2009 to 13,816 in 2010.

"I’d like to say that was because DUI-driving is decreasing," Emerson said. "But it is probably due to a lack of resources" by police agencies to do more enforcement.

The report said the average blood alcohol content for those arrested was 0.14 (0.08 is the legal limit). The record was at 0.45, or more than five times over the legal limit.

About 68 percent of arrests were for a first-time offense, 21 percent were for a second, 7 percent were for a third and 4 percent were for a fourth or subsequent offense.

The report said that justice of the peace courts handled 83 percent of DUI cases that were adjudicated, and district courts handled 17 percent. About 53 percent of justice court cases and 75 percent of district court cases resulted in a guilty plea or verdict.

The average jail sentence for a DUI offense was 157 days and the average fine was $1,553.