Almost a third of all American traffic accidents involve drunk drivers. According to the CDC, every day, around 37 Americans die in a car accident that involved a driver under the influence of alcohol. That’s a devastating number of deaths, approximately one every 39 minutes. Some surveys suggest that not even half of Americans say they would never drive if they’ve had a drink. Maybe this is part of what impacts high rates of drunk driving across the United States.
Lawyers at van der Heen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim looked deeper in the facts and figures to focus on a specific aspect of drunk driving: location. Their infographic maps out the U.S. cities that have had the highest number of drunk driving accidents. Using data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the team adjusted the calculations by population density and pinpointed the cities where impaired driving is the most prevalent.
Their map shows us that Odessa, Texas had the highest rate of drunk driving accidents. They found that Odessa had 27.46 fatal drunk driving accidents per 100,000 people. This number is much higher than any other city on the list. 23 drivers had Blood Alcohol Content of .15 or more. This qualifies as an aggravated drunk driving accident. Aggravated drunk driving cases typically include harsher punishments and may even result in a felony. People with a BAC over .15 are at double the legal limit, which is .08%. This map focused on fatalities due to drunk driving accidents, but thousands more are injured. This infographic is a harsh reminder of the risks of drunk driving.
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