These U.S. Cities Have the Highest Risk of Drunk Driving Fatalities
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Austin ranks as the top U.S. hotspot for drunk driving, recording 113 fatal accidents, with 83.19% involving alcohol-affected drivers.
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27.90% of individuals over 18 exclusively consume alcohol in Chicago.
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San Antonio reported 190 fatal traffic crashes overall, with 65 of them involving drivers having severe impairment.
Summit Defense Criminal Lawyers conducted research to determine which cities are drunk driving hotspots in the US. While analyzing the cities, several key metrics are taken into account, such as the number of fatal accidents involving drivers with a BAC of 0.08 or higher and BAC 15+ g/dl, total fatal crashes, and the percentage of binge drinkers over 18. The composite score for each city is calculated by combining normalized drunk driving and binge drinking rates, where the highest number indicates an increased risk of drunk driving fatal accidents.
| City | % of fatal accidents involving drunk driver | % of binge drinkers over 18 | Composite Score |
| Austin | 83.19% | 26.30% | 89.21 |
| Chicago | 60.69% | 27.90% | 68.33 |
| Dallas | 75.00% | 22.50% | 67.69 |
| San Antonio | 82.11% | 19.90% | 67.64 |
| Kansas City | 63.41% | 26.60% | 67.34 |
| Charlotte | 58.70% | 27.50% | 64.76 |
| Fort Worth | 71.93% | 22.60% | 64.47 |
| Denver | 59.15% | 26.60% | 62.42 |
| Houston | 72.13% | 21.80% | 62.16 |
| El Paso | 82.09% | 17.50% | 60.00 |
You can find the full research here.
Austin tops the list of drunk driving hotspots in America with the highest composite score of 89. The city has the highest 83.19% of fatal accidents that involve drunk drivers among all the cities included in the study. This indicates that driving under the influence of alcohol is, unfortunately, a common occurrence in Austin.
Chicago ranks second with a 68 composite score. In this city, 27.90% of adults are considered binge drinkers. Furthermore, of 173 recorded fatal crashes in Chicago, 60.69% of them involve alcohol-affected drivers.
With a composite score of 67.69, Dallas comes in third. The city has 75% of accidents resulting in death due to drunk driving in its overall 212 traffic crashes. Additionally, 22.50% of people above 18 are found to be excessive consumers of alcohol.
San Antonio jumps fourth, with a composite score of 67.64, just slightly behind Dallas. The city’s 82.11% of accidents with deadly outcomes are due to drunk drivers, which is the second highest number among all the cities analyzed. The binge drinkers here compose more than 19.9% of the overall population.
Kansas City is given the fifth place on the list with 63.41% of drunk driving accidents that resulted in fatalities. The city’s composite score is strongly influenced by the presence of 26.60% of over 18 binge drinkers in the overall 510K population.
With a 64.76 composite score, Charlotte ranks sixth. The city has a relatively lower 58.70% of fatal accidents involving drunk drivers compared to the other cities on the list. Despite that, Charlotte appeared to have the second-highest 27.50% of adults with excessive alcohol consumption, directly impacting its composite score.
Fort Worth jumps seventh, having a composite score of 64.47. The 71.93% of fatal crashes involving alcohol-influenced drivers is quite higher compared to that in Charlotte. The percentage of adult binge drinkers is more than 22.60% in Fort Worth.
Denver lands on the eight, holding a 62.42 composite score, with only a slight difference from Fort Worth’s. The deadly crashes involving drunk drivers compose 59.15%, lower than that in Fort Worth. Despite that, Denver had quite a larger proportion of adults as binge drinkers, with 26.60%.
With a 62.60 composite score, Houston ranks ninth. The recorded 72.13% of life-ending accidents caused by drunk drivers surpasses that of Denver. On the other hand, Houston has
relatively lower rates for adults consuming alcohol, with 21.8% in the overall population.
The state of El Paso jumps to the tenth spot, rounding up the list of the states, with a composite score of 60. El Paso has 82.09% of fatal car crashes with the involvement of alcohol-affected drivers. Regardless of that, a comparably low 17.50% of adult binge drinkers are recorded in this city.
Methodology: This study, conducted by Summit Defense Criminal Lawyers, examines US cities with the highest risk of drunk driving fatalities by analyzing key factors, including the number of fatal crashes involving drivers with a BAC of 0.08 or higher, the proportion of total fatal accidents caused by impaired driving, and the percentage of adults engaging in binge drinking. BAC refers to blood alcohol concentration, and BAC at or above 0.8 g/dl is the legal limit of impairment. Whereas BAC at 15+ g/dl indicates severe impairment. To assess overall risk, a composite score was calculated by normalizing the rates of drunk driving and binge drinking. Cities are ranked based on their composite scores, from highest to lowest, with higher scores indicating a greater risk of drunk driving fatalities.
credit https://summitdefense.com/
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
