New Jersey tops US ranking for lowest drunk driving fatalities | Study

Tamara Walker, Asbury Park PressSat, September 26, 2026 at 8:45 AM UTC

0

The number of people who drive impaired in New Jersey is on the decline.

According to a study conducted by Steve Gimblin Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, impaired fatalities in New Jersey is significantly lower than any other state and, ranks the Garden State best in the nation with the lowest rate of drunk drivers deaths across the country.

The California-based law firm study analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) on drivers killed in alcohol-related fatal crashes across all 50 U.S. states from 2020–2024 to determine the state rankings.

Advertisement

For each state, the number of drivers killed with a high blood alcohol concentration, BAC was collected annually, averaged over five years, and expressed as a rate per 100,000 licensed drivers the report stated.

Here's why New Jersey ranks as No. 1 in the study:

New Jersey recorded the lowest drunk driving death rate in the United States at 1.33 deaths per 100,000 licensed drivers, 5.4 times lower than the most dangerous state, Montana (7.17).

A total of 440 drivers with a BAC at or above 0.08 were killed on New Jersey roads from 2020 to 2024, averaging 88 deaths per year across a driving population of 6,626,757 licensed drivers.

New Jersey’s deadliest year was 2022, when 100 alcohol-impaired drivers were killed in crashes, while 2023 recorded the fewest at 79, reflecting the state’s continued effectiveness in combating impaired driving despite being the nation’s most densely populated state.

Mid-Atlantic region rankings -

No. 1 New Jersey

Average Annual Deaths: 88.0

Rate per 100,000 Drivers: 1.33

No. 2 New York

Average Annual Deaths: 176.4

Rate per 100,000 Drivers: 1.45

No. 10 Pennsylvania

Average Annual Deaths: 214.4

Rate per 100,000 Drivers: 2.36

No. 12 Delaware

Average Annual Deaths: 21.6

Rate per 100,000 Drivers: 2.49

No. 16 Connecticut

Average Annual Deaths: 72.8

Rate per 100,000 Drivers: 2.80

Top 10 states with the lowest drunk driving death rate

These states are ranked based on rate per 100,000 drivers and the average annual deaths findings in the study conducted by Steve Gimblin Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers.

New Jersey

New York

Massachusetts

Alaska

Utah

Minnesota

Rhode Island

Hawaii

Washington

Pennsylvania

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: New Jersey tops US ranking for lowest drunk driving fatalities | Study

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Breaking”