DRUNK DRIVERS?... THESE TWO STATES ARE TOPS

A new state-by-state breakdown of drunk drivers shows that states with the highest levels of past-year drunk driving were Wisconsin (23.7 percent) and North Dakota (22.4 percent).

The highest rates of drugged driving were found in Rhode Island (7.8 percent) and Vermont (6.6 percent).

States with the lowest rates of past year drunk driving included Utah (7.4 percent) and Mississippi (8.7 percent).

(Iowa and New Jersey had the lowest levels of past year drugged driving (2.9 percent and 3.2 percent respectively).

Overall, more than 30 million Americans admit to drunken driving in the previous 12 months and more than 10 million say they drove while on illicit drugs. 

Some good news:  the numbers show some progress in getting drunk or drugged drivers off the road.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, survey data from 2006 to 2009 showed the average yearly rate of drunken driving fell to 13.2 percent compared with 14.6 percent in 2002 to 2005.

Driving under the influence of drugs fell from 4.8 percent in the 2006-2009 period to 4.3 percent in the 2002-2005 period, the researchers said.

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