South Dakota Is One of the Worst States for Drunk Driving

Roadways in South Dakota are some of the deadliest in America, thanks to one of the highest rates of drunk drivers in the nation.

A new DUI Report from Zutobi ranks the Mount Rushmore State as the second-most drunk driving in the country, trailing only Montana.

According to alcohol-impaired crash data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, those states were the only ones in the U.S. to register an 80 or higher on the report's 'DUV Severity Score'.

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That score is a reflection of a state's ranking in four key categories:

DUI Arrests (per 100,000 people)
DUI Road Fatalities (per 100,000 people)
DUI Road Fatalities per All Road Fatalities
Total DUI Road Fatalities

South Dakota led the nation with 908.7 DUI arrests per 100,000 people, which is 82 more than the next closest state (North Dakota - 826.3). Only one other state had more than 600 (Wyoming - 642.3).

As for DUI road fatalities per 100,000 people, South Dakota's 7.4 was the sixth-highest overall. The state was also tied for sixth with .35 DUI road fatalities per all road fatalities.

With 49 DUI road fatalities in 2019, South Dakota saw a 75 percent increase from the previous year. Only Vermont had a bigger jump during that same time period (100%).

Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii had the least amount of drunk driving.

Overall in America in 2020, drunk driving accounted for 30% of all road fatalities – the worst year since 2005, with DUI fatalities up nearly 15 percent.

There is a glimmer of good news in the numbers.

The number of alcohol-impaired crash fatalities in 2020 (11,654) is down more than 35 percent from a record-high 18,125 deaths in 1985.

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Source: South Dakota Is One of the Worst States for Drunk Driving