San Diego DUI attorneys have recently heard that states with the most DUI / drunk driving cases are being rated. http://www.SanDiegoDrunkDrivingAttorney.net/articles
A report on a connection between smoking bans and an increase in DUI deaths should give pause to Minnesotans.
The paper, “Drunk driving after the passage of smoking bans in bars,” was written by Scott Adams and Chad Cotti of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and published in the Journal of Public Economics. The authors estimate that smoking bands increase the number of DUI deaths by about 13 percent. Summary (emphasis added):
Using geographic variation in local and state smoke-free bar laws in the US, we observe an increase in fatal accidents involving alcohol following bans on smoking in bars that is not observed in places without bans. Although an increased accident risk might seem surprising at first, two strands of literature on consumer behavior suggest potential explanations — smokers driving longer distances to a bordering jurisdiction that allows smoking in bars and smokers driving longer distances within their jurisdiction to bars that still allow smoking, perhaps through non-compliance or outdoor seating. We find evidence consistent with both explanations. The increased miles driven by drivers wishing to smoke and drink offsets any reduction in driving from smokers choosing to stay home following a ban, resulting in increased alcohol-related accidents. This result proves durable, as we subject it to an extensive battery of robustness checks.
Deaths from DUI in Minnesota reached their lowest level in 2006, with 175 people dying at the hands of of drunk drivers (see a chart of alcohol-related traffic fatalities going back to 1982 here). So if the research holds true, we could expect an additional 22 or 23 people to die as an unintended consequence of the smoking ban that went into effect October 1. Then again, some lives will undoubtedly be saved that would otherwise have been lost to diseases caused by secondhand smoke.
The North has the worst rates of DUI already. Wisconsin has the highest incidence, and Minnesota checks in at No. 3.
Nebraska is among the top five states with the highest drunken driving rates, according to government statistics released Tuesday.
While Wisconsin leads the way in drunken driving, Nebraska rounds out the worst five – all in the upper-Midwest – including Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The U.S. government estimated that 23 percent of Nebraska motorists have driven under the influence, according the Omaha World Herald.
However, people who are involved with trying to decrease DUI’s are not at all surprised by the numbers.
Alcohol consumption is part of the culture in Nebraska and other upper-Midwestern states, said Fred Zwonechek, Nebraska’s office administrator of highway safety. “Unfortunately, we pay some pretty significant prices for that.”
The report on drunken driving relies on data obtained from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted in 2004, 2005 and 2006, according to the Associated Press.
Diane Riibe, executive director of Project Extra Mile, an organization dedicated to preventing underage drinking, cited a recent study by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found binge drinkers — those who consume a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time — are most likely to drive under the influence.
About 84 percent of alcohol-impaired drivers were binge drinkers and 88 percent of alcohol-impaired driving episodes were done by binge drinkers.
“We are seventh in the nation in terms of youthful binge drinking,” Riibe said. “That’s just not a place we want to be.”
“It’s not surprising, but it means that these jurisdictions should take this data and think about how they approach public education campaigns and enforcement campaigns,” said Dr. H. Westley Clark of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The southern states, such as Virginia, Arkansas and Kentucky, have the lowest drunken driving rates – 11 percent. Utah takes the No. 1 spot in the state with the least cited DUI’s.
New Nationwide Report Estimates that Roughly a Quarter of All Drivers in Some States Drove Under the Influence of Alcohol in the Past Year
Survey also reveals that 6-7 percent of adults in several states and the District of Columbia drove under the influence of illicit drugs at least once in the past year.
A first-of-its-kind national report reveals that 15.1 percent of the nation’s drivers age 18 and older drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year. The report says that in some states the levels are far higher – about one in four drivers.
Nationwide, an estimated 30.5 million people aged 12 or older drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year according to the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Driving under the influence ranged from a low of 9.5 percent in Utah, to highs of 26.4 percent in Wisconsin, 24.9 percent in North Dakota and 23.5 percent in Minnesota.
State Estimates of Adults Driving under the Influence of Alcohol and Illicit Drugs is based on the combined data from the 2004 to 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and provides state-level estimates for the pervasiveness of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of illicit drugs. These estimates are annual averages based on combined data collected from 127,283 current drivers surveyed in 2004, 2005 and 2006, the most recent data available.
The report also shows that nationwide nearly one in 20 adult drivers aged 18 or older drove under the influence of illicit drugs such as marijuana/hashish, cocaine/crack, inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin or prescription drugs used nonmedically.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were almost 16,700 deaths in 2004 caused by accidents related to driving under the influence of alcohol. Overall, driving under the influence of alcohol and illicit drugs is among the leading sources of preventable death by injury in the United States.
“This report highlights the enormous public health risk posed by this problem – one threatening the lives of many Americans every day,” said SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D. “By highlighting the scope and nature of this problem in each state we can help communities best use their efforts and resources to address this preventable menace.”
State-by state listings of the percentage of adult drivers who drove under the influence of either alcohol or illicit drugs in the past year are provided in the chart following this release.
The full report is available on the Web at http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k8/stateDUI/stateDUI.cfm . Copies may be obtained free of charge by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727). Request inventory number SMA 08-4311. For related publications and information, visit http://oas.samhsa.gov/DWI.htm. For other SAMHSA publications and information, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/.
State Estimates of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Illicit Drugs in the Past Year among Current Drivers Aged 18 or Older: Average of 2004-2006
Driving Under Influence of Alcohol
Driving Under Influence of Illicit Drugs
State
Percent
SE (%)*
State
Percent
SE (%)*
Wisconsin
26.4
1.52
District of Columbia
7.0
0.88
North Dakota
24.9
1.35
Rhode Island
6.8
0.79
Minnesota
23.5
1.35
Massachusetts
6.4
0.70
Nebraska
22.9
1.29
Montana
6.3
0.61
South Dakota
21.6
1.25
Wyoming
6.2
0.67
Kansas
21.1
1.45
Alaska
5.9
0.62
Massachusetts
20.5
1.27
Colorado
5.8
0.78
Rhode Island
20.4
1.44
Minnesota
5.7
0.74
Montana
20.3
1.32
Michigan
5.7
0.33
District of Columbia
19.1
1.14
Vermont
5.6
0.63
Michigan
18.4
0.63
Nevada
5.6
0.71
Wyoming
18.3
1.26
Tennessee
5.6
0.63
Missouri
18.0
1.03
New Mexico
5.5
0.75
Iowa
17.6
1.23
Hawaii
5.5
0.80
Hawaii
17.4
1.30
New Hampshire
5.4
0.61
Connecticut
17.2
1.44
Arkansas
5.4
0.61
Colorado
17.0
1.26
California
5.3
0.33
New Hampshire
16.7
1.14
Wisconsin
5.3
0.60
Illinois
16.5
0.59
Connecticut
5.2
0.67
Vermont
16.4
1.20
Missouri
5.1
0.64
Louisiana
16.0
0.96
Maine
5.0
0.67
Nevada
15.9
1.33
Washington
5.0
0.58
Oregon
15.9
1.07
Delaware
4.8
0.60
Texas
15.7
0.63
Ohio
4.8
0.28
Ohio
15.7
0.61
Pennsylvania
4.7
0.33
Indiana
15.2
1.33
Virginia
4.7
0.66
Arizona
14.9
1.15
Utah
4.7
0.54
Pennsylvania
14.8
0.54
Florida
4.7
0.30
South Carolina
14.7
1.17
Oklahoma
4.7
0.63
Maryland
14.7
1.10
Louisiana
4.7
0.53
Washington
13.8
1.26
Kansas
4.6
0.54
California
13.8
0.59
Indiana
4.5
0.52
Delaware
13.7
0.99
Georgia
4.5
0.66
Oklahoma
13.7
1.15
South Carolina
4.5
0.54
Alaska
13.7
1.13
Mississippi
4.4
0.59
Idaho
13.6
0.99
North Carolina
4.4
0.54
Virginia
13.6
1.15
Oregon
4.3
0.55
New Mexico
13.5
1.13
Illinois
4.3
0.26
Georgia
13.5
1.32
West Virginia
4.2
0.57
Florida
13.5
0.58
New York
4.1
0.29
New York
13.0
0.60
Idaho
4.1
0.57
Maine
12.4
0.98
Texas
4.1
0.25
Tennessee
12.4
1.12
Nebraska
3.9
0.48
Mississippi
11.9
1.05
Iowa
3.9
0.48
Alabama
11.4
0.97
Maryland
3.7
0.49
New Jersey
11.3
1.12
Arizona
3.7
0.49
Arkansas
10.8
0.92
Kentucky
3.6
0.51
Kentucky
10.4
1.07
North Dakota
3.5
0.40
North Carolina
10.4
1.04
South Dakota
3.5
0.39
West Virginia
10.1
0.96
Alabama
3.4
0.43
Utah
9.5
1.00
New Jersey
3.2
0.54
* The standard error (SE) is a measure of these sampling variability of an estimate, where smaller values represent greater precision and larger values represent less precision.
SOURCE: Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2004-2006
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SAMHSA is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation’s substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment, and mental health services delivery system.
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Apparently, this was a survey based on SELF-REPORTING, not the most reliable method of compiling statistics or gathering accurate data.
If you are from one of thes states and received a DUI in San Diego, all a San Diego DMV defense attorney has to do is knock out one (1) DMV issue to save your license & you avoid any reissue fee and/or Proof of Insurance SR-22 filing!
Click for more information or for a San Diego DUI Criminal Defense Lawyer:
www.SanDiegoDUI.com