A new study ranks the Top 10 cities in the U.S. that are hotspots for drunk driving. Texas cities appear predominately on the list, taking six of the spots. Austin is No. 1.
These U.S. Cities Have the Highest Risk of Drunk Driving Fatalities
The study, conducted by Summit Defense Criminal Lawyers, took several key metrics 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 scores for each city was then 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 |
Austin tops the list of drunk driving hotspots in America - with the highest composite score. According to the study, the state capitol of Texas has 83.19% of fatal accidents that involve drunk drivers.
Chicago ranks second on this list. Researchers say in the Windy City, 27.90% of adults are considered binge drinkers. And of 173 recorded fatal crashes in Chicago, 60.69% of them involve alcohol-affected drivers.
Dallas comes in third place, with 75% of accidents resulting in death due to drunk driving in its overall 212 traffic crashes. Additionally, 22.50% of people above 18 in the 'Big D' are found to be excessive consumers of alcohol.
San Antonio takes fourth place. The city's 82.11% of accidents with fatalities are due to drunk drivers, the second highest number among all the cities analyzed. Binge drinkers compose more than 19.9% of the overall population.
Kansas City is fifth on the list with 63.41% of drunk driving accidents that resulted in fatalities. Researchers say the city's composite score is strongly influenced by the presence of 26.60% of over 18 binge drinkers in the overall 510,000 population.
Charlotte, North Carolina ranks sixth. The city has a relatively lower 58.70% of fatal accidents involving drunk drivers compared to the other cities on the list. However, Charlotte appeared to have the second-highest 27.50% of adults with excessive alcohol consumption, which played a direct role in its composite score.
No. 7 Fort Worth has 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 at number eight. While deadly crashes involving drunk drivers compose 59.15%, lower than that in Fort Worth, Denver has a higher percentage of adults as binge drinkers at 26.60%.
Houston ranks ninth with a recorded 72.13% of life-ending accidents. While that's higher than Denver, Houston has relatively lower rates for adults consuming alcohol, with 21.8% in the overall population.
El Paso takes the final spot. The city 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.
You can find the full research here.
Special thanks to Summit Defense Criminal Lawyers for sending this report.
Photo: Austin. Texas. Credit: f11photo/Shutterstock.com.