R.I., N.E. among states with fewest drunk-driving deaths

PROVIDENCE – With New Year’s celebrations soon to begin, SafeWise has researched the latest statistics and produced a report that ranks all the states and the District of Columbia in terms of drunk-driving deaths per 100,000 residents.

The Ocean State ranked No. 30 (with No. 1 being the most and No. 51 being the least), with 3.21 impaired-driving deaths per 100,000. Maine performed poorest among the six New England states, with a rate of 3.74 drunk-driving deaths per 100,000.

As a group, the New England had a number of the best states in the nation, with Massachusetts fifth best at 1.75 deaths per 100,000 and New Hampshire ranking No. 6, with 2.01 drunk-driving deaths per 100,000. Vermont ranked No. 13, with 2.89 impaired driving deaths, followed by Rhode Island (No. 21) and Connecticut (No. 26, with 3.34 deaths per 100,000 people). Maine ranked No. 32 in the nation.

The best state in the nation was New Jersey, with 1.39 drunk-diving deaths per 100,000, while the worst was Wyoming, where 7.6 people lost their lives to drunk driving per 100,000 population in the state.

SafeWise also found that penalties and treatment for drunk driving were among the most lax in the nation in the states with the most impaired-driving deaths. For example:

• Among the five states with the most drunk-driving deaths, the average minimum first drunk-driving conviction fine was $300, compared with the $524 fine for the five states with the fewest drunk-driving deaths.
• Four of the five states with the worst drunk-driving rates – Wyoming, South Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico and Alabama – do not require jail time for first-time DUI offenders, with only South Carolina the outlier.
• The majority of states require alcohol abuse assessment or treatment after a DUI conviction, but neither is required in four of the five states with the worst impaired driving rates.

The five states with the lowest rates of drunk-driving deaths per 100,000 people were New Jersey (1.38 deaths), New York (1.48), Minnesota (1.52), Utah (1.7), and Massachusetts (1.74).