Every state has drunk drivers, but which states have the worst drivers? Which states have the Best drivers?
Thanks to a study by safewise.com we have comprehensive data on every state in the union.
“With New Year’s Eve approaching, we thought it would be helpful to identify the states where you’re most likely to run into drunk driving danger—and the ones where the roads should be safer. To find the most dangerous states, we looked at the most recent data for impaired driving deaths from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.”
Did your state make the list? Check below to find out!
Safewise.com Drunk driving fast facts:
- 80% of the most dangerous states were also in the top five in 2016—Wyoming is the only newcomer, replacing Montana as the state with the most impaired driving deaths per capita.
- Montana went from the state with the most dangerous roads (9.58 drunk driving deaths per 100,000 people in 2016) to number 27, with 5.33 deaths per 100,000.
- Wyoming climbed from eighth place (5.98 deaths/100,000) to the worst state for impaired driving fatalities, topping the list with 7.59 deaths per capita in 2017.
- Every state in the five worst (except Wyoming) decreased its rate of drunk driving deaths year over year in 2017.
- 80% of the worst states have no minimum jail time for first-time DUI offenders. South Carolina is the outlier with two days for a first offense.³
- The majority of US states require mandatory alcohol abuse assessment or treatment after a DUI conviction, but neither is required in four out of the five worst states for drunk driving deaths.⁴
- Among the five states with the most drunk driving deaths, the average minimum fine for the first DUI conviction is $300, compared to $524 among the five states with the fewest drunk driving deaths.⁵
Complete Rankings 1-51
Sources:
1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Traffic Safety Facts 2017 Data, Alcohol-Impaired Driving”
2. EconPapers, City University of New York Graduate Center, “New York City Drunk Driving after Uber”; SSRN, Fox School of Business Research Paper, “Show Me the Way to Go Home: An Empirical Investigation of Ride Sharing and Alcohol Related Motor Vehicle Homicide”; SSRN, Western Carolina University, “Ride-Sharing, Fatal Crashes, and Crime”; American Journal of Epidemiology, “Uber and Metropolitan Fatalities in the United States”; MOLL Law Group, “Ride-Sharing Impact on Drunk Driving”
3. Wallet Hub, “Strictest and Most Lenient States on DUI”
4. Wallet Hub, “Strictest and Most Lenient States on DUI”
5. Wallet Hub, “Strictest and Most Lenient States on DUI”
6. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Traffic Safety Facts 2017 Data, Alcohol-Impaired Driving”; US Census Bureau, “State Population Totals and Components of Change: 2010–2017”
