Report Ranks Top Texas Cities for Drunk Driving Fatalities

A new report finds Odessa, Midland, and Dallas have had the state’s highest percentage of drunken-driving fatalities per 100,000 residents over the past five years. Odessa took top place with 6.26 annual fatalities, Midland ranked second with 6.19, and Dallas came in third with 5.88.

The report—just released in April, which is Alcohol Awareness Month—was published by law firm Sutliff & Stout. The firm evaluated Texas Department of Transportation city-level crash data for all alcohol-involved crashes over a five-year period, from 2013 to 2017.

In Odessa, there are more than 200 drunk driving crashes every year, according to the report. Over 3% of those crashes result in fatalities and 3.4% in incapacitating injuries. With a population of just 130,000, Midland is home to 185 drunk driving collisions annually—resulting in approximately six fatalities and 10 incapacitating injuries every year.

A major city with a population close to 1.3 million, Dallas endures nearly 1,500 drunk driving crashes annually— resulting in over 75 deaths and 145 debilitating injuries.

Additional Texas cities that ranked among the top ten for drunk driving fatalities include: San Marcos (5.21), San Antonio (5.15), Baytown (5.12), Longview (5.09), Waco (4.63), Houston (4.36), and Lubbock (4.10).

Drunk driving kills nearly 30 people a day in the United States. In Texas alone, close to 1,200 people lost their lives in drunk driving crashes in 2017, notes the report.

The report also identifies the top ten Texas cities with the lowest drunk driving fatalities. The top three safest cities for impaired driving fatalities are Flower Mound (0.28) North Richland Hills (0.29) and Frisco (0.51).

Read the full report here.