A recent study shows that many California cities have among the highest rates of drunk driving.
Drunk driving is one of the leading causes of traffic fatalities in the United States. As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) notes, nearly 29 people are killed across the country in drunk driving accidents every day. While drunk driving deaths have actually fallen by a third over the past three decades, some regions and cities still have much higher-than-average rates of drunk driving. A recent study by insurance comparison site Insurify shows that California cities are particular hotspots for drunk driving, especially in Southern California.
Drunk driving capitals of the U.S.
As the Wisconsin State Journal reports, the Insurify study ranked cities across the U.S. based on the percentage of their populations with a DUI and compared those percentages to the national average. The study then compiled a list of 25 cities that had the highest DUI rates. The study also compiled DUI-related data on the 15 largest cities in the U.S. and compared them to the national average.
California cities ranked especially high for drunk driving. Of the 25 so-called drunk driving capitals, eight were located in the Golden State, five of which were in the top ten. Orange, California had the highest DUI rate in the state and the second highest nationally. The study showed that 4.65 percent of drivers in Orange have a DUI, which is 194 percent higher than the national average. Huntington Beach, Chula Vista, Santa Ana, Fullerton, Oxnard, Oceanside, and Hesperia were the other California cities designated drunk driving capitals.
Large cities also have high DUI rates
Even in Insurify's study of the nation's 15 largest cities, California's urban centers showed a distinct drinking problem. The four cities on the list located in California all had higher DUI rates than the national average. San Francisco and Los Angeles were slightly higher than the national average, at eight and six percent higher respectively. San Jose's DUI rate, however, was 55 percent higher than the national average. San Diego, with a DUI rate 62 percent higher than the national average, has more DUI drivers than any other of the nation's 15 largest cities.
The figures show that despite improvements over the past few decades, drunk driving remains a persistent problem, especially in Southern California. NHTSA statistics show that about a quarter of all traffic fatalities are caused by drunk driving.
Personal injury law
Every drunk driving accident is a preventable accident. That is why those who have been hurt by a drunk driver find the experience especially frustrating and senseless. However, such victims do have somewhere they can turn to for help. An experienced personal injury attorney can guide accident victims through the claims process and show them how they may be able to seek financial compensation for their ordeal.
