15 States Where Alcohol Is Linked to More Fatal Deaths (Excerpt)

Arizona Daily Star

By Christina Lavingia

November 12, 2015

Every year, drunk driving is responsible for too many preventable accidents and deaths. In 2013 alone, 15,530 drivers lost their lives — and over a third of them had blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of over 0.08 (the legal driving limit).

Reporting varies at the state level. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), BAC information is irregularly recorded. Some states, like West Virginia, report BAC data for 95 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers; others, like Mississippi, do so for just 42 percent.

The team at Credio ranked the states with the highest incidences of driver deaths that involved driving over the legal limit. Using IIHS and HLDI data from 2013 (the most recent year), the following states are where the most drivers with known BAC died driving above the legal limit.

Note: Only states with BAC reporting of 70 percent or higher were included in this article. Click to view the list of states.