Rhode Island tied for highest percentage of alcohol related traffic fatalities in 2022

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island tied with South Carolina for the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired traffic fatalities in the U.S. in 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Rhode Island’s figure came in at 43 percent, with the national average sitting at 32 percent.

This includes fatalities of anyone in a crash where a driver had a blood alcohol concentration above 0.08.

There were 204 alcohol-related driving fatalities between 2016 and 2022 in Rhode Island, and between 2016 and 2020, 32.8 percent of male drivers had a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit and about 21.3 percent of female drivers were above the legal limit.