Drink and DUI: Impaired driving on the rise in Idaho as ’100 Deadliest Days’ arrive
The Idaho Transportation Department and local police departments kicked off their yearly “100 Deadliest Days” campaign last weekend, an annual reminder to Idaho residents of the dangers of distracted and impaired driving.
Idaho’s 100 Deadliest Days period starts on Memorial Day every year and lasts until Labor Day in September. According to ITD, fatal and serious-injury car wrecks spike during the summer months, with distracted and impaired driving the typical causes.
According to ITD, summertime is the deadliest time for drivers because more people are out of school or work, on vacation, or celebrating a holiday or occasion. This naturally leads to more distracted drivers on the road.
So far in 2024, Idaho has witnessed 70 deaths from car crashes. Six of those occurred in one incident in Bonneville County on May 18, when six people were killed and 10 injured during a two-vehicle collision.
As of May 24, seven motor vehicle deaths have occurred in Ada County and nine in Canyon County.
“We call this period the 100 Deadliest Days, but it would be great to be proven wrong,” Josephine Middleton, Office of Highway Safety program manager, said in a news release. “Make it safer out there for yourself and others by slowing down, putting down distractions, buckling up, and planning a sober ride home.”
Unfortunately, Idahoans are trending in the wrong direction for impaired driving.
A study from personal injury attorney Dismuke Law, using data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, found that the percentage of fatal accidents involving a driver under the influence is increasing.
Between 2018 and 2022, Idaho saw a 58.8% increase in fatal car wrecks, according to the study. The study broke down by state how many car wrecks each year involve an impaired driver. Here’s how Idaho faired, with data only available until 2022:
2018: 19.1%
2019: 26.2%
2020: 21.5%
2021: 22.1%
2022: 30.3%
“During the 5-year period measured, there were a total of 61,354 fatal crashes in the US involving drivers under the influence of drugs, alcohol, and medication,” Dismuke Law attorney David Dismuke noted in the study.
This alarming statistic represents 11% of the 557,598 fatal crashes reported during that time,” he continued. “While some states have seen a decrease in DUI-related fatal crashes over the past five years, there were multiple states with increases in these fatal accidents.”
What other states have seen an increase in impaired driving?
Here are the top 10 states that have witnessed the most significant increase in impaired driving between 2018 and 2022, according to the Dismuke Law study:
Hawaii - 334.1%
Mississippi - 272.8%
Louisiana - 149.6%
Connecticut - 62.2%
Kentucky - 61.5%
Idaho - 58.8%
Georgia - 58.6%
Washington - 48.3%
Virginia - 44.4%
Maine - 37.7%
This story was originally published June 4, 2024 at 4:00 AM.
