WASHINGTON — The upper Midwest has the worst drunken-driving rates 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.
Wisconsin leads the way. The federal government estimates 26.4 percent of the state’s adult drivers had driven under the influence. 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 — 9.5 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.
Colorado fell on the higher end of the list, with 17 percent of drivers reporting driving under the influence.
The report on drunken driving relies on data obtained from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
The survey asked 127,283 adults in 2004, 2005 and 2006 whether they had driven under the influence in the past year.
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 calls 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 states are heavily white.
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.”
