Our friends at BackgroundChecks.org recently sent some statistics our way that show how each state stacks up against one another in terms of DUI arrests and accidents. We wanted to feature those statistics in today’s blog and show you how Minnesota compares to other states in the US. How do you think we’ll fare?
The Best and Worst States For Drunk Driving
Before we break into the stats, here’s a helpful chart that assigns a ranking to each state. As you can see, Minnesota comes in 37th on the list of worst states for DUI, or in other words, the 13th best!
Here’s a look at some other Minnesota-based stats from the study.
- There were 20,186 DUI arrests in Minnesota last year.
- That puts us at a rate of 362.35 DUI arrests per 100,000 people.
- There were 105 DUI-related fatalities in Minnesota in 2018.
- 28 percent of all traffic fatalities in Minnesota were DUI-related.
- Minnesota experienced a 25 percent increase in fatal DUI crashes compared to the previous year. Only three states had a larger year-to-year increase.
- Minnesota averaged 3.82 DUI-related deaths per 100,000 people in 2018.
Other, non-Minnesota focused stats from the study include:
- The north-central region comprising Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas is by far the worst area for drunk driving in the United States, with the four states taking the top 4 positions in our ranking. Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota have the top three DUI arrest rates, while Montana and Wyoming have the two highest DUI death rates.
- The south is the deadliest region for drunk driving: 7 of the 12 states with the highest DUI death rates belong to the region (South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina).
- Montana has the highest share of alcohol-related traffic deaths, at 43%. Followed by Texas at 40%.The state with the greatest percentage increase in DUI fatalities was New Hampshire, posting a considerable 77.80% increase in DUI fatalities over the previous year.
To learn more about the study, please check out BackgroundChecks.org!
