The survey concluded Arizona was the toughest state for DUI rules.
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The personal finance website, WalletHub ranks the states when it comes on those that crack down on driving under the influence and driving while intoxicated.
WalletHub analyzed the enforcement rules in each of the 50 US states and the District of Columbia on 15 key metrics, ranging from fines and minimum jail sentences, to iginition interlock device requirements that drastically reduce repeat arrests of previously-convicted drunk drivers. According to Wallethub, Michigan ranks 43 out of 51 for strictest states on DUI’s, including the District of Columbia, for 2016. Neighboring Virginia and DE tied for 11th strictest, while the District ranked as the second-most lenient at No. 50 on the list.
Drunk driving is said to cost Americans $40 billion a year in economic losses.
Arizona ranks # 1 with the harshest DUI penalties and long jail terms.
Repeat offenders spend an average of almost three weeks longer in jail than first-time offenders. For a third offense, it’s a $2,000 fine, 45 days to five years in jail and two-year license suspension. States with one day of jail time for the first offense get zero points for the study.
“States toward the bottom of the list can look at the ones near the top, like Oklahoma, and look at them as an example”, Gonzalez said.
But California is still vigilant when it comes to drunk driving arrests and convictions.
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Since states first began to crack down on drunk driving in the 1980s, the rate of impaired driving and the number of accidents caused by drunk drivers has dropped considerably.
