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Connecticut has high rate of alcohol involvement in car-crash deaths

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Jake Kara

Data Editor

Connecticut has the seventh-highest rate of alcohol involvement in car-crash fatalities when compared with other states over a nine-year period.

In 2013, some 41 percent of fatalities in Connecticut crashes involved an intoxicated driver (with a blood-alcohol content at or above 0.08 grams per deciliter), according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s annual State Transportation Statistics report, released in November.

Percentage of crash deaths involving high blood alcohol level
This map shows the percentage of car crash fatalities in which a high blood alcohol content (0.08) was a factor. Connecticut tends to be among the states with the highest rate of these alcohol-involved crash fatalities. Utah, where alcohol more heavily regulated than in other states, has far fewer such fatalities.
U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Jake Kara / TrendCT.org

In 2013, Connecticut car crashes resulted in 276 fatalities; 114 of them involved a high blood-alcohol content.

The data for 2013 are the most recent available in the 2015 federal report. Trend CT looked at reports going back to 2005.

From 2005 to 2013, 2,395 people died in car crashes, and 914 of those fatalities involved high blood-alcohol content. The percentage of fatalities involving high alcohol content ranged from 33% to 43%, and averaged 38% over that period.

Nationwide, 329,887 people died in car crashes, and 105,694 of those fatalities resulted from crashes involving alcohol. The average rate of alcohol involvement over that period was 32%.

North Dakota has the worst record, with high blood-alcohol content being involved in 42% of crash fatalities.

Utah, where alcohol is highly regulated and the alcohol content of beverages is limited, consistently had the lowest rates of high alcohol involvement in crash fatalities.

Alcohol involvement in fatal crashes, 2005-2013
This shows the car crash fatalities and the number of those which involved a high blood alcohol content (0.08 or higher) from 2005 to 2013.
State Fatalities Involving alcohol Rate(%)
North Dakota 1160 489 42.2
South Carolina 8279 3464 41.8
Montana 2073 839 40.5
Hawaii 1096 438 40.0
Texas 29654 11777 39.7
Rhode Island 646 248 38.4
Connecticut 2395 914 38.2
Delaware 1048 399 38.1
Wisconsin 5773 2156 37.3
Washington 4655 1704 36.6
Louisiana 7476 2684 35.9
Massachusetts 3317 1149 34.6
Illinois 9612 3297 34.3
District of Columbia 278 95 34.2
Wyoming 1308 446 34.1
Missouri 8369 2837 33.9
South Dakota 1292 435 33.7
Mississippi 6675 2243 33.6
Pennsylvania 12484 4100 32.8
Alabama 8753 2824 32.3
Colorado 4556 1469 32.2
Alaska 595 191 32.1
United States, total 329887 105694 32.0
New Hampshire 1132 360 31.8
Nevada 2822 897 31.8
Virginia 7540 2380 31.6
New Mexico 3486 1093 31.4
Ohio 10236 3203 31.3
Maryland 4967 1527 30.7
Kansas 3655 1123 30.7
Florida 25318 7777 30.7
California 30430 9314 30.6
West Virginia 3275 995 30.4
Arizona 8537 2593 30.4
Tennessee 9774 2964 30.3
Idaho 2026 614 30.3
Oregon 3509 1062 30.3
Oklahoma 6558 1977 30.1
North Carolina 12654 3760 29.7
Minnesota 3995 1180 29.5
New York 11348 3327 29.3
Vermont 645 189 29.3
Michigan 8870 2574 29.0
Arkansas 5312 1532 28.8
Nebraska 2026 582 28.7
New Jersey 5731 1642 28.7
Maine 1460 412 28.2
Indiana 7308 2021 27.7
Georgia 12686 3350 26.4
Iowa 3549 891 25.1
Kentucky 7244 1782 24.6
Utah 2300 401 17.4
U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Traffic Statistics

What do you think?

  • Egg Nick

    Oh it would be more useful to list fatality rates that are standardized (ie fatalities involving alcohol vs vehicle miles traveled) versus expressing them as % of total fatalities