Drunk Driving Highest Among Northerners

(AP)  Wisconsin drivers apparently aren't heeding the message of one of America's biggest brewers, located in their own backyard. Nor are residents in some neighboring states.

Miller Brewing Co. urges people to "Respect the Road."

Wisconsin has the worst drunken driving rate in the country, according to a government report that says 15 percent of adult drivers nationally report driving under the influence of alcohol in the previous year.

In Wisconsin, the federal government estimates more than a quarter of the state's adult drivers had driven under the influence in the previous year. Rounding out the worst five are North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Utah had the lowest incidence of drunken driving. It was the only state where fewer than 10 percent of adult motorists reported driving under the influence. Following closely behind were a slew of Southern states that often fare poorly when it comes to government health statistics. This time, however, they're serving as models. West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky and North Carolina all had drunken driving rates for the prior year of less than 11 percent.

The report on drunken driving relies on data obtained from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The survey, based on a scientific random sample of households, asked 127,283 adults in 2004, 2005 and 2006 whether they had driven under the influence in the past year. Health experts say the state-by-state breakdowns support other surveys showing that residents in northern states are more likely to engage in heavy alcohol consumption.

"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, which released the report. The agency is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Eric Goplerud, research professor at George Washington University Medical Center, said cultural and demographic issues probably have a role in the higher rates of driving under the influence in certain states. He said that religious affiliations in the Southeast often strongly discourage drinking, but that doesn't occur so much in the upper Midwest.

"A good part of the social life is around drinking," said Goplerud, who is also director of Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, which call for increased access to treatment programs.

Also, blacks drink at substantially lower rates and at less hazardous rates than whites, he said. The populations in those upper Midwest states are heavily white.

Jeffrey Ratliff-Crain, associate professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota-Morris, noted that the Minnesota Legislature is considering a bill that would let bars stay open until 4 a.m. during the Republican National Convention, pouring more money into the economy.

"We're making it easier to drink to all hours of the night, but (drinking and driving) didn't come into the discussion," Ratliff-Crain said. "There is a seeming acceptance that this is the way it is. Of course people are going to be drinking and driving, and well, that's it."

Clark said states with the lowest rates for driving under the influence shouldn't take comfort in the data.

"Even in Utah, which reported the nation's lowest rate, nearly one in 10 drivers report driving under the influence of alcohol within the past year," Clark said. "So, even in states that have low consumption rates or low DUI rates, they too need to reflect on the approach they're taking. We don't want people to lull themselves into a false sense of security."

A majority of Utah residents are Mormon. The religion bars the use of alcohol.

It's illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher.

In the past decade, the number of impaired drivers involved in alcohol-related crashes has remained relatively stable - from 12,348 in 1996 to 12,491 in 2006. Those figures from the Department of Transportation cover drivers with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher.

The federal government also released estimates of driving under the influence of illicit drugs. The rates were highest in the District of Columbia, 7 percent; Rhode Island, 6.8 percent; and Massachusetts, 6.4 percent.

The states with the lowest rates for driving under the influence of illicit drugs within the past year were New Jersey, 3.2 percent; Alabama, 3.4 percent; and North Dakota and South Dakota, 3.5 percent.

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The report can be found at: www.samhsa.gov

[grammawhamma]

Hmmm...maybe Wisconsinites just answered the question more honestly than the others polled did?

[cfin5]

The authorities should treat alcohol purchases the same way they treat gun purchases. What''s the difference between a DUI conviction and a firearms purchase infraction? Look, guns don''t float around in the air and kill people, but inebriated attitudes with ANY kind of weapon do. Especially when a drunk is armed with an automobile. If someone gets a DUI, and if that person gets their driving privileges restored, it should have the international "no alcohol" symbol displayed right on the offenders drivers license. Then you make it mandatory for any person purchasing alcohol must show drivers license. If the prohibited symbol is there, then purchase is denied. A "STRAW" alcohol purchase should have stiff penalties and pen time along with whatever the crime the drunk commits. That would make a "buddy" think again about going to the store to get it for them.......Plenty of folks are in the big house for crimes they probably would have never committed had they been sober. In all, this is just a better bandaid idea than the ones we have now. Because nothing stops them from getting lit anytime they please. I love my family, and I don''t want someone threatening them on the road with a loaded car!

[wissucks]

High Poverty, low graduation rates ( 60% in MKE school system), few opportunities, arrogant about their own ignorance. State budget is a mess. City police asking for state national guard for help with downtown shootings. (Hey, they''re too busy dying in Iraq.) You have to move here to compare and contrast but when you do, you are amazed. I can''t wait to move back to civilization.

[rwm2_2000]

Be sure David Letterman hears about this!

[michellem99-2009]

may be we should bar the car and driver sinse he/she can''t drive properly..safety ..I live in Seattle..Smoking grass is barred..I would like to know what TV station ye saw it..Do tell.

[scottyusa]

let people legally choose pot, that way they will still be driving impaired, just s-l-o-w-e-r


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Posted by honestabe8 at 03:33 PM : Apr 23, 2008

A couple of years ago a TV station in Seattle reported on a study that showed people driving under the influence of pot drive safer than those that are drunk. Reasons being that they do drive slower and are more careful.
Now that the insurance companies see this I suppose the rates will increase north of the Mason Dixon line.

[honestabe8]

let people legally choose pot, that way they will still be driving impaired, just s-l-o-w-e-r

[helenwulfgar]

For excoachken- yep! Having worked in the court system in Alaska for several years now, I''m wondering if this study is only referring to the lower 48, because most people I meet here have several DUIs by now.

[michellem99-2009]

I am a New Endlander by birth..I don''t drink and never have. It used to get cold there. I play a paw of solitaire.
Yes there are drinker everywhere. My friend asked me why do they drink at a ball game..I don''t know..Years ago Uncle was sitting out doors with beer on his year..the cop gave him a ticket for it. It be drinking in public he was told.
Yep brian it can save yer life if ye are tossed a cold water. My friend was years ago and the booze saved him..
Every body know they can''t drink and drive. I won''t get in a car if the driver has drank..
I was teen in foster home and I was too scared in them. One night a car hit something..I was told a tree. I heard the most pitiful cry..It was a drying cry.I wish I have never heard it and I can''t tell ye what it sounds like..ye know it if yer ever heard it..That cry seemed to go on for huurs then stop. It was a man that I do ''member. Poor thing..

[bobsvikes1]

There is nothing to do in Wisc except milk cows, play football and drink. It is the biggest small town in America. Everyone knows everybody. Its like a tom tom or smoke signal gossip community. Its always either too cold or too wet and I think it must be a law you have to go to your local tavern for fish on fridays.