Here’s How New York Ranks For Strictest DUI Laws In U.S.

The law firm Siegfried & Jensen recently published a comprehensive ranking of the strictest states for DUI laws and penalties. The report was based off information from the Governors Highway Safety Administration, National Council of State Legislatures and the National Highway Safety Administration.

Siegfried & Jensen then scored each state based on 21 metrics, including DUI arrests, fatalities, the BAC lower threshold and open container laws.

New York ranks sixth overall in toughest DUI laws and penalties — just ahead of Florida and just behind Kansas. New York has 1.5 DUI-related fatalities per 100,000 people, 223 DUI arrests per 100,000 drivers and a BAC increased penalty at 0.18 percent.

Here’s how New York did across other major metrics.

• Injuries per 100K population: 29
• BAC threshold: 0.08 percent
• 1st DUI Jail Time: 0
• 1st DUI Fine: $500
• 1ST DUI License Suspension: 12 months
• Number of DUI’s a felony: 2
• Open Container Laws: Yes
• Repeat Offender Laws: Yes

Drunken driving is the No. 1 cause of death on U.S. roadways, with 300,000 incidents a day; 10,876 deaths a year; and 290,000 injuries every year, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an organization fighting to end impaired driving across the country.

In 2018, Utah became the first state to reduce the legal blood-alcohol limit for drunken driving from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent, according to the report. Utah also finished second overall in strictest DUI laws across the country.

Here are the top 10 overall states:

1. Minnesota: 76.7
2. Utah: 69.4
3. Georgia: 69.3
4. Delaware: 64.7
5. Kansas: 64.4
6. New York: 64.3
7. Florida: 63.4
8. New Jersey: 62.4
9. Washington: 62.1
10. Nebraska: 61.6

South Dakota ranked as the weakest state in the U.S. for DUI laws and penalties — with Wyoming, New Mexico, North Dakota and Maryland rounding out the bottom five.