Why South Dakota Has One Of The Highest DUI Arrest Rates

Choosing to drive drunk in South Dakota is not a good idea.

I should preface this by saying, deciding to drive drunk is NEVER a good idea, regardless of where you live, but deciding to climb behind the wheel while feeling a little tipsy in the Rushmore State is especially bad, because you stand a very good chance of getting pulled over.

There's new data out that shows South Dakota ranks at or near the top nationwide in most categories when it comes to arrests per capita for driving under the influence.

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Dakota News Now reports that Forbes ranks South Dakota second in the country for DUI risks, citing the highest number of DUI arrests per licensed driver (879 per 100,000) and a high rate of traffic fatalities caused by drunken drivers (35.14%). That data is according to a recent report conducted by Forbes regarding driving while under the influence.

In that report, the state of Montana ranks #1, and Texas rounds out the top 3.

According to Dakota News Now, another site, Alcohol.org has South Dakota sitting at #1 by citing data of 938.8 DUI arrests per 100,000 people. A study done by SDPB also shows South Dakota with the highest per capita DUI arrest rate in the nation.

Each of these sources employs a different formula to determine its rankings; therefore, South Dakota's position varies somewhat, but its DUI arrest rate is consistently quite high in every study.

What helps contribute to South Dakota's consistently high rankings?

Some of the factors include things like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, frequent sobriety checkpoints, and drivers getting behind the wheel in rural areas and small towns after throwing back a few libations.

South Dakota continues to do a very good job of highlighting its zero-tolerance message for drunk driving with its "Drive Sober, or Get Pulled Over" media campaign that airs statewide.

I still think one of the best drunk driving ads that I've seen was the "If you choose to drive drunk in South Dakota, we'll introduce you to some new bars." That ad concluded with a person sitting in a jail cell.

A sobering reminder, to say the least.

Source: Dakota News Now

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