Atlanta ? One in 10 binge drinkers got behind the wheel the last time they drank heavily. And half of those drivers left from a bar, restaurant or nightclub after downing five or more drinks, a new study has found.

The study is being called the first to try to measure the likelihood someone will drive after binge drinking. It suggests a need for stepped-up efforts to prevent bars and restaurants from serving people after they’re intoxicated, according to its authors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers focused on 14,000 “binge drinkers” — people who said that at least once a month that they had five or more drinks on a single occasion. About 12 percent said they had gone driving within two hours of their last bout of heavy drinking.

Of those drivers, more than half took the wheel after drinking in a bar, restaurant or other licensed establishment. Half of the drivers who left an establishment said they had seven or more drinks; a quarter said they’d had at least 10.

Binge drinking is a main factor behind the more than 11,000 deaths annually from alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, said Dr. Timothy Naimi, an epidemiologist with the CDC’s alcohol program. He led the study, which was released today and will be in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.