Florida 14th Toughest State on DUI, Study Finds

TAMPA BAY, FL — Tampa Bay area motorists who happen to see flashing lights in their rearview mirrors may find out the hard way Florida is one of the toughest states in the country on DUI violators. A new study, in fact, ranks the state the 14th strictest.

The study in question was conducted by the folks at WalletHub. The website dedicated to personal finance wanted to see which states go down the hardest on people who drink and drive.

Drunk driving results “in more than 1 million arrests, nearly 10,000 deaths and over $40 billion in economic damage each year,” spokeswoman Diana Popa explained. “In the interest of underscoring the financial downsides of driving drunk, WalletHub analyzed the enforcement rules in each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across 15 key metrics, ranging from fines and minimum jail sentences to ignition- interlock -device requirements that drastically reduce repeat arrests of previously convicted drunk drivers.”

When the numbers related to those 15 key metrics were crunched, Arizona came in first place for being the toughest state on DUI violators. It was followed by Georgia, Alaska, Oklahoma and Nebraska in the Top 5.

In 2016’s Strictest & Most Lenient States on DUI report, Florida ranked high in these key metrics related to its DUI penalties:

• 2nd in Administrative License Suspension
• 4th in Minimum Fine for the 1st Offense
• 6th for How Long an Old DUI Factors into Penalties
• 9th for Minimum Jail Time for 2nd Offense
• 13th for Minimum Jail Time for 1st Offense

Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, the District of Columbia and South Dakota were ranked the most lenient in regard to DUI penalties, WalletHub found.

Check out the full report on WalletHub’s website.

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