Arizona drunken driving deaths rose from 295 in 2020 to 421 a year later, a 43% increase that was the fifth-highest rate among states and territories in the U.S., a new report says.
Alexis Waiss Cronkite News COVID-19 was not the only killer accounting for an increase in Arizona deaths in 2021: A surge in drunken driving deaths on the state’s highways that year was among the highest in the nation.In terms of raw numbers, the additional 126 drunken driving deaths was the nation’s fourth-highest — and accounted for virtually all of the increase of 127 traffic deaths of all types in the state from 2020 to 2021.
While Arizona was an outlier, it was not unique: Nationwide, drunken driving deaths rose 14% in 2021, from 11,718 to 13,384. Mesa Police Officer George Chwe said he was not surprised by the data. He said he typically files more driving-under-the-influence charges against people coming from home than from a bar or social gathering because the homebodies often “thought they’re OK” and “want to go get food.” But they are not OK, and Chwe said that trend was exacerbated during the pandemic.
But even with that in mind, Paredes said he was surprised by Arizona’s surge in drunken driving deaths given the state’s zero-tolerance rules. Chwe said Arizona police can file a DUI charge even if the blood alcohol content is as low as 0.02, as long as the driver is obviously impaired. Sustayta agreed that “we can make as many policies as we want, but until people change that behavior, things really aren’t going to change completely.” One of the best ways for people to make that change, she said, is to take the time to learn more about the experiences of drunken driving victims.
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