South Carolina, with its serene coastline and go-to vacation destination spots, has ironically made the list of the worst states in the nation for drunk driving.
According to data analyzed by backgroundchecks.org and released in March 2017, South Carolina ranks fifth on the list of the worst offenders.
The state’s DUI death rate (per 100,000) was 6.07, and it marked 16,272 DUI arrests. Top on the list was Wyoming, followed by North Dakota, ranked second; South Dakota, ranked third; and Montana, ranked fourth.
“To create a ranking of states, we took a combination of deaths directly attributable to DUIs, DUI arrests per 100,000 people, and drinking too much before driving, as reported by drivers themselves,” backgroundchecks.org said in its release of the data. “We then created a weighted formula.”
The original data used to create the weighted formula came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Take Note: If you have lost your license and need to work on driver’s license restoration, browse through the attorney directories on www.Drunkdrivingattorneys.com or www.DriversLicenseRestorers.com. Pick an attorney experienced and knowledgeable in the driver’s license appeal (restoration) process in your state. If you need to get treatment to help make a case for restoring your license, there are treatment center directories on both sites. If you need information about points on your driving record, check your state department of motor vehicles. In South Carolina, go to http://www.scdmvonline.com. Helping yourself is always the first step in having your DUI attorney help you.
A factor in the Palmetto State making the list very well could be the state’s lack of resources to monitor and enforce driving and DUI laws.
“I’ve been trying to pin down what it is about our culture that makes it so much more difficult for people to separate the decision to drink and to drive,” said Steven Burritt with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) South Carolina, who was quoted in a 2015 article about the state’s drunk driving problem.
“Systematically, in terms of laws and policies, there are certainly some things we could do better. By and large, my experience is that the law enforcement [officers] we have are very attentive to doing as much as they can with the resources available to do high-visibility enforcement, which we know drives down deaths,” he said.
“But certainly we know that their funding levels are not what they once were,” Burritt said. “We don’t have a fully staffed Highway Patrol. More resources for enforcement would certainly help.”
Information on South Carolina’s current DUI laws can be found here.
In terms of locations in the state where the worst drinking problems occur, Myrtle Beach might be high up there. It has more liquor stores and bars per capita than anywhere in South Carolina, and is a well-know spot for general tourists and Spring Break revelers.
Additionally, in an online article pinpointing the drunkest cities in each state, 24/7 Wall St. pegs Charleston as the worst offender. It is the state’s largest city and a sought-after tourist destination as well.
“Both excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related driving deaths are more prevalent in the Charleston metro area than across the state and nation,” the article stated. “Nearly one in five area adults drinks excessively, and alcohol is involved in approximately 44% of driving fatalities in the area.”
“The fact that over 10,000 people a year die from DUI-related accidents is a travesty,” Trent Wilson, co-author of the backgroundchecks.org research, was quoted as saying. “We hope this research will open some eyes and make people think twice before drinking and driving.”
