Drunk driving figures have plunged since the early 1980s. The 1982 number was 21,113. That figure had dropped by half in 2007. There are several possible reasons this happened. Cars, in general, are safer, and crashes are less likely to cause death. Penalties for drunk driving are much higher. First-time offenders can lose their licenses. Public education about the problem has widened. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), which accounts for much of the recent awareness, was founded in 1980.
Driving deaths, in general, have begun to rise recently. After three consecutive years of declining fatalities, there were 38,824 traffic-related deaths in 2020, the highest figure since 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The rise in traffic deaths corresponded with an increase in risky driving behaviors. Three major factors in the rising fatalities were drunk driving, speeding and failure to wear seatbelts. Of 8,643 alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2020, 1,638 were also unrestrained and speeding. In total, there were 11,654 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities nationwide, accounting for 30% of all 2020 traffic fatalities.
To determine the state where drunk driving causes the most accidents, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on alcohol-impaired driving fatalities reported in each state in 2020, using the NHTSA’s report Overview of Motor Vehicle Crashes in 2020 published in March of 2022. States were ranked by the percentage of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities of all driving deaths.
Nationally, there was a 14% increase in alcohol-related fatalities from 2019 to 2020. Alcohol-related fatalities increased in 40 states. California and Texas had the most alcohol-related driving fatalities, with 1,159 lives lost in California and 1,495 in Texas. Drunk driving fatalities increased by 20% in California and accounted for 30% of all driving fatalities, while they increased by nearly 12% in Texas and accounted for 39% of all fatalities.
Montana, Rhode Island and Connecticut lead in how much drunk-driving fatalities contributed to overall driving deaths, with 40% or more of all traffic deaths involving alcohol. Some of the largest increases in fatalities were among people aged 25 to 34, as well as on urban roadways.
The state with the most drunk driving deaths was Montana. Here are the details:
- Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2020: 45% (or 96) of all driving deaths
- Change in alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, 2019 to 2020: +45.5% (30)
- Total driving fatalities in 2020: 213 (11th least)
- Total fatalities change, 2019 to 2020: +15.8% (29 total)
- Population: 1,068,778 (eighth smallest)
Note that the number of fatalities for 2019 and 2020 are also from the NHTSA report. Total population figures are from the 2019 American Community Survey one-year estimates. Ties were broken using the total number of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities.
Click here to see all the states where drunk driving causes the most deaths.
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