Canadians seem to have got the message on drunk driving – even if they’ve found a just-as-dangerous substitute by texting-and-driving. But what about our American cousins? Here are the 10 cities to avoid if you don’t want to meet a drunk driver.
According to a recent NerdWallet study, impaired driving led to the deaths of 10,322 people in the United States, with an estimated economic cost of about $199 billion (U.S. dollars).
What was Canada’s worst city for impaired driving rates? Go to the end to find out.
According to motor vehicle crash data from the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the worst cities for fatal alcohol-related car crashes per capita are:
10. Little Rock, Arkansas—Population: 193,691
Little Rock had 27 alcohol-related fatal crashes from 2010-2012. Factoring in population, the city had 0.1394 crashes per 1,000 residents. All told, Little Rock had almost twice as many alcohol-related fatal car crashes per-capita than the national average, according to NerdWallet.
A Little Rock driver’s premium after a DUI jumps by about 50%, or about $616. The average driver there pays $1,241.23 for auto insurance per year.
9. Sacramento, California—Population: 467,467
Sacramento is the first of four California cities to appear in the top-10, had 66 fatal alcohol-related car crashes from 2010-2012, or about 0.1412 per 1,000 residents.
8. Spokane, Washington—Population: 208,701
From 2010-2012, Spokane, the only Pacific-Northwest city to appear in the top-10, suffered 30 fatal alcohol-related car crashes. For perspective, NerdWallet notes that Tacoma, Washington, which has a similar population, had just 13. Spokane’s fatal alcohol-related crashes total 0.1437 per 1,000 residents.
7. Fresno, California—Population: 495,777
Fresno is the second of four California cities in the top-10, and is the largest city on the list. Its 80 alcohol-related fatal car accidents from 2010 to 2012 equals 0.1614 per 1,000 residents—more than twice as many per capita than the national average.
6. Knoxville, Tennessee—Population: 179,973
Knoxville is just across the border from Huntsville, Alabama, which has nearly the same population. But from 2010 to 2012, Knoxville recorded 31 fatal alcohol-related crashes, while Huntsville suffered just 12. Knoxville’s total comes to 0.1722 per 1,000 residents, good for sixth on the list.
5. Lubbock, Texas—Population: 229,428
Lubbock had 0.1743 fatal alcohol-related deaths from 2010 to 2012, or 40 in total. (continued.)
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4. Tulsa, Oklahoma—Population: 391,486
Tulsa had 74 fatal alcohol-related accidents from 2010 to 2012, matching Oklahoma City, which has almost 200,000 more residents. Tulsa suffered 0.1890 fatal alcohol-related crashes per 1,000 residents, compared to Oklahoma City’s 0.1273 (Oklahoma City ranked 17th on NerdWallet’s list).
3. Riverside, California—Population: 306,128
Riverside had about three times the number of fatal alcohol-related crashes per capita compared to the national average from 2010 to 2012, NerdWallet says. The city suffered 74 crashes over that time, or 0.2417 per 1,000 residents.
2. Mobile, Alabama—Population: 195,239
Mobile recorded 58 fatal alcohol-related crashes from 2010-2012, or 0.2971 per 1,000 residents, about four times the national average. NerdWallet says Augusta, Georgia, which has about the same number of people as Mobile, had just 17 fatal alcohol-related crashes in the same period.
1. San Bernardino, California—Population: 210,624
The fourth California city on the list also has the dishonor of being first overall when it comes to the frequency of alcohol-related car crashes. San Bernardino suffered 94 such crashes from 2010-2012, or 0.4368 per 1,000 residents, far outpacing even second-ranked Mobile. The total compares to the national average of 0.0731 crashes per 1,000 residents.
And which Canadian city came in first and worst for impaired driving rates? According to Maclean’s magazine Most Dangerous Cities survey, it is Grande Prairie, Sask., which had 945 impaired charges per population of 100,000.
The next closest city was Red Deer, Alta., with 847.
