How Georgia DUI Rates Compare With Other States

ATLANTA, GA — A national drug testing company recently published a ranking of the states according to the rates of drunken driving, and Georgia finished in the middle of the pack.

The findings were based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Transportation and FBI crime reports.

Georgia ranked 23rd overall for drunken driving rates in 2018, with 308.7 DUI-related arrests per 100,000 people.

Other metrics cited in the report showed our state has:

• Short-term rate change in DUI arrest rate: 32.4 percent increase from 2014-2018
• Long-term rate change in DUI arrest rate: 12.8 percent decrease from 2009-2018

In the 10-year span from 2009 to 2018, Georgia peaked in 2009 with 398.74 arrests for every 100,000 people.

The United States overall has seen the population-adjusted rate of drunken driving arrests fall by more than 35 percent since 2009. Only three states — Delaware, Washington and North Dakota — recorded an increase in DUI arrests from 2009 to 2018.

Georgia Drive Sober Campaign

About 25 percent of the 375 traffic accident fatalities in Georgia last year involved alcohol impairment, according to state officials.

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety is urging drivers with no intention of drinking and driving to still be safe on the roads.

"The holidays are a busy time with so many of us trying to get so much done in a short period of time, and we want to remind people to avoid rushing on the road by obeying the speed limit and complying with Georgia's hands-free law," Governor's Office of Highway Safety Director Allen Poole said. "And always remember the best defense against a drunk, distracted, or speeding driver is a buckled seat belt."

State officials are urging drivers who consume alcohol during the holidays to take advantage of AAA's "Tow-To-Go" program, where drivers who become intoxicated can arrange to get a free ride, and to have their vehicle towed for free, up to 10 miles. The service will be available from Dec. 20 until 6 a.m. on Jan. 2.

Georgia DUI Laws

Georgia drivers can be charged with DUI if their blood alcohol content (BAC) is .08 percent or higher.

When you are arrested for a DUI in Georgia, you'll have to deal with both a criminal case and a separate license suspension. The Georgia Department of Driver Services will handle your license suspension pursuant to the implied consent laws and the Georgia criminal courts will prosecute the criminal case.

What happens in court won't have any bearing on the status of your driver's license and vice versa.

The Georgia courts impose criminal penalties including:

• Fines;
• Jail time;
• Public service.

The Department of Driver Services imposes administrative penalties including:

• Suspension or revocation of your license.

The higher your BAC, the more severe your penalties may be. Multiple convictions will also result in harsher sentences.

Adults in the United States participate in close to 130 million examples of drunken driving every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirty Americans are killed in drunken driving incidents every day, according to U.S. Drug Test Centers.

South Dakota ranked as the state with the most DUI incidents during 2018, the researchers found, followed by North Dakota and Wyoming.

The state with the lowest drunken driving rate in the nation? That commendable distinction went to Delaware, with 44.3 DUI arrests per 100,000 people. The other bottom five states with the lowest rates for drunken driving arrests were Illinois, Massachusetts, Louisiana and Florida.

Men are far more likely than women to be arrested on drunken driving charges, as males accounted for nearly three in four DUI arrests in 2018, according to U.S. Drug Test Centers.

Additionally, whites accounted for 81.2 percent of DUI arrests in 2018, according to the report.

Here are the 10 states with the highest rates of DUI arrests in 2018:

1. South Dakota: 721.9 arrests per 100,000 people
2. North Dakota: 678.4 arrests per 100,000 people
3. Wyoming: 676.1 arrests per 100,000 people
4. North Carolina: 518.8 arrests per 100,000 people
5. Mississippi: 462.2 arrests per 100,000 people
6. New Mexico: 459.7 arrests per 100,000 people
7. Maine: 434.2 arrests per 100,000 people
8. Washington: 430.2 arrests per 100,000 people
9. Alaska: 429.2 arrests per 100,000 people
10. Wisconsin: 425.3 arrests per 100,000 people

The full report on drunken driving in the United States is available at USDrugTestCenters.com.