Personal Injury Law

Iowa Drunk Driving and the National Trends

By Steve Lombardi

Did you know that,

--In the U.S., someone is killed in an alcohol-related accident about every 30 minutes.

--Roughly one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol are repeat offenders.

The annual report card by MADD or Mother's Against Drunk Driving rankings and statistics have been printed. They are compiled into a story by the Men's Health magazine.

The "10 most dangerously drunk cities" are Denver, Anchorage, Colorado Springs, Omaha, Fargo, San Antonio, Austin, Fresno, Lubbock and Milwaukee.

The "10 least dangerously drunk cities" are: Durham, Miami, Buffalo, Jackson, Yonkers, Salt Lake City, Little Rock, New York, Richmond and Jersey City.

The cities with the lowerst drunk-driving arrests are: Washington DC, Wilmington, Montgomery, Providence, Sioux Falls, Cleveland, Jersey City, Birmingham, San Francisco and Boston.

Cities with the lowest number of alcohol-related fatal accidents are: Bangor, Salt Lake City, Burlington, Cheyenne, Richmond, Jersey City, Sioux Falls, Tulsa, Boise and Durham.

Other statistics of interest include:

--In the U.S., someone is killed in an alcohol-related accident about every 30 minutes.

--Roughly one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol are repeat offenders.

--There were 13,470 drunk-driving traffic deaths last year in the U.S.

Some of the other "worst" states in percentage of fatalities involving a drunk driver: Montana, Hawaii, Texas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Connecticut and South Dakota.

These states are reported as the "best" in low percentage of drunk-related deaths: Utah, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, Alaska, Maine, New York, Georgia, Indiana and Iowa.

Among cities in the Upper Midwest, Fargo did the worst, landing at No. 96. Others in the region: Milwaukee (91); Madison, Wis. (73); Des Moines, Iowa (54); St. Paul (50); Minneapolis (34); and Sioux Falls, S.D. (17).

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on April 12, 2008 (boomark / email).