Which States Are Hardest On Drunk Drivers and Which Ones Are Lenient

Even before I was 21 I could purchase alcohol.  I had a beard which meant I looked older,  and I could walk into most liquor stores with a carry out 6 pack and a bottle of Jack.  I really never drank a lot until I hit my early 40's. From about 2005 - 2008, I came home from work, drink a 5th of Vodka and get in the car and go to a bar for more.  How I didn't get pulled over, crash my car or hurt an innocent person I'll never know.  On Super Bowl Sunday 2008 I woke up tired of feeling like shit and I quit cold turkey.  There were no withdrawls surprisingly.  I think my sheer will and desperation to quit surpassed and desire to drink. BTW, I have never, ever come to work drunk.

But just because I walked away from it doesn't mean everyone can. With drunk driving resulting in more than 1 million arrests, nearly 10,000 deaths and over $40 billion in economic damage each year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released an in-depth report on 2016’s Strictest & Most Lenient States on DUI.

Physical damage is not the only downfall of driving drunk. WalletHub analyzed the enforcement rules in each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across 15 key metrics, ranging from fines and minimum jail sentences to ignition- interlock -device requirements that drastically reduce repeat arrests of previously convicted drunk drivers.

Here are some of the stats from Wallethub

Key Findings:

• The average fine for a first DUI ($347) is higher than the Uber fare from Washington, DC to New York, and you could get all the way to Ontario with the second-DUI average ($757).
• Repeat offenders spend an average of nearly three weeks longer in jail than first-time offenders.
• All but seven states can automatically suspend the license of someone arrested for DUI, before any court involvement.
• 92% of states require offenders to equip their vehicles with Ignition Interlock devices after a DUI.
• There's even more to be found here.

Jail time, a fine, suspension of your license and the shame that follows getting a DUI are enough reason to use a Designated Driver, or if possible, know when to quit and say I'm heading home.  Remember, especially in the state of Kentucky, it's zero tolerance.  That means if you blow a .01, you're going to jail.  Indiana still .08.  If you're an alcoholic, your tolerance with be so built up you could two or three times the legal limits and not feel drunk. Then...it' time to quit or face jail, you health and your mind. Ain't worth it.

Again thanks to Wallethub for these eye opening stats.