Which cities have the deadliest drunken drivers?
- Updated
Texas had more than twice as many alcohol-related vehicle deaths as California, despite having a smaller population.
- By Ben Taylor
- Updated

Car accidents can happen for dozens of reasons: off-road distractions, speeding, poor weather and driver fatigue all rank among the top 20 causes. The vast majority are not fatal. Add in alcohol, however, and the risk of death skyrockets. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a driver in a single-vehicle crash is 13 times more likely to die when driving at a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level (the legal limit) when compared to driving at a 0 percent BAC.
The data experts at AxleGeeks -- a vehicle research site from Graphiq -- set out to find cities where drunken driving is the deadliest. They turned to 2015 car accident fatality data from the safety administration, the latest available.
The administration doesn't provide per capita figures, so AxleGeeks' ranking is based on the cities where the greatest percentage of vehicle-related deaths involved alcohol.*
In order to avoid listing cities where there happen to be high percentages of alcohol-related deaths -- despite relatively few total deaths -- AxleGeeks set a minimum threshold of at least 10 vehicle deaths in 2015.
Taking the nation as a whole, about 31 percent of vehicle deaths are alcohol-related. The cities on this list all have even higher percentages, ranging from the low-30s up to 70 percent. As a result, the list reflects cities where alcohol is more likely to be the root problem, as compared to causes like speeding and fatigue.
A few trends emerge from the list. Alcohol-related vehicle deaths tend to come in higher percentages in small- to medium-sized cities -- generally with populations under 200,000. The data strongly suggests that the robust public transportation systems of bigger cities prevent drunken driving fatalities.
Predictably, big states like California, Texas and Florida report the most total deaths, which is simply a function of their larger populations. Texas, however, had more than twice as many alcohol-related vehicle deaths as California, despite having a smaller population.
One possible explanation: The Texas cities on the list have more rural characteristics than the California cities. According to a 2013 NHTSA study, 54 percent of traffic fatalities occur in rural areas, despite only 19 percent of the U.S. population living in them. Rural regions have several things going against them: poorly maintained roads, fewer medical resources and generally speaking, worse driver habits. Rural drivers are less likely to wear seat belts and more likely to drive dangerously fast as they traverse longer distances to reach their destination.
The list will start with cities only modestly worse than the national average, then count up to the places where drunken driving deaths were the largest percentage of vehicle-related deaths. For context, the AxleGeeks team also calculated per capita rates based on census data, but note that these are approximate numbers and were not a ranking factor for the final order.
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#99. Detroit, Michigan

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#95. Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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#90. Charlotte, North Carolina

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#85. Cincinnati, Ohio

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#80. Lakeland, Florida

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#75. Baltimore, Maryland

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#70. Huntington Beach, California

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#65. Boston, Massachusetts

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#60. Santa Ana, California

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#55. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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#50. Buffalo, New York

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#45. Chula Vista, California

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#40. New Orleans, Louisiana

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#35. Lakewood, Colorado

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#30. Vancouver, Washington

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#25. Peoria, Arizona

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#20. Portland, Oregon

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#15. Enterprise, Nevada

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#10. North Las Vegas, Nevada

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#5. Dayton, Ohio

More like this...
- By Ben Taylor

Car accidents can happen for dozens of reasons: off-road distractions, speeding, poor weather and driver fatigue all rank among the top 20 causes. The vast majority are not fatal. Add in alcohol, however, and the risk of death skyrockets. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a driver in a single-vehicle crash is 13 times more likely to die when driving at a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level (the legal limit) when compared to driving at a 0 percent BAC.
The data experts at AxleGeeks -- a vehicle research site from Graphiq -- set out to find cities where drunken driving is the deadliest. They turned to 2015 car accident fatality data from the safety administration, the latest available.
The administration doesn't provide per capita figures, so AxleGeeks' ranking is based on the cities where the greatest percentage of vehicle-related deaths involved alcohol.*
In order to avoid listing cities where there happen to be high percentages of alcohol-related deaths -- despite relatively few total deaths -- AxleGeeks set a minimum threshold of at least 10 vehicle deaths in 2015.
Taking the nation as a whole, about 31 percent of vehicle deaths are alcohol-related. The cities on this list all have even higher percentages, ranging from the low-30s up to 70 percent. As a result, the list reflects cities where alcohol is more likely to be the root problem, as compared to causes like speeding and fatigue.
A few trends emerge from the list. Alcohol-related vehicle deaths tend to come in higher percentages in small- to medium-sized cities -- generally with populations under 200,000. The data strongly suggests that the robust public transportation systems of bigger cities prevent drunken driving fatalities.
Predictably, big states like California, Texas and Florida report the most total deaths, which is simply a function of their larger populations. Texas, however, had more than twice as many alcohol-related vehicle deaths as California, despite having a smaller population.
One possible explanation: The Texas cities on the list have more rural characteristics than the California cities. According to a 2013 NHTSA study, 54 percent of traffic fatalities occur in rural areas, despite only 19 percent of the U.S. population living in them. Rural regions have several things going against them: poorly maintained roads, fewer medical resources and generally speaking, worse driver habits. Rural drivers are less likely to wear seat belts and more likely to drive dangerously fast as they traverse longer distances to reach their destination.
The list will start with cities only modestly worse than the national average, then count up to the places where drunken driving deaths were the largest percentage of vehicle-related deaths. For context, the AxleGeeks team also calculated per capita rates based on census data, but note that these are approximate numbers and were not a ranking factor for the final order.
#99. Detroit, Michigan

#95. Winston-Salem, North Carolina

#90. Charlotte, North Carolina

#85. Cincinnati, Ohio

#80. Lakeland, Florida

#75. Baltimore, Maryland

#70. Huntington Beach, California

#65. Boston, Massachusetts

#60. Santa Ana, California

#55. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

#50. Buffalo, New York

#45. Chula Vista, California

#40. New Orleans, Louisiana

#35. Lakewood, Colorado

#30. Vancouver, Washington

#25. Peoria, Arizona

#20. Portland, Oregon

#15. Enterprise, Nevada

#10. North Las Vegas, Nevada

#5. Dayton, Ohio

More like this...
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Noelia A. Martinez, 30, was allegedly drunk again when she hit the Volkswagen Tiguan while driving south in the northbound lanes of I-39/90/94 near DeForest at around midnight Sunday.
“Bottom line, our state has a culture of drinking and driving,” Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said.
“Bottom line, our state has a culture of drinking and driving,” Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said.
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