Believe it or not, the state of Michigan is not amongst the strictest states on drunk driving laws and DUI's.
Michigan falls under one of the more lenient states on DUI's. According to Wallethub, Michigan ranks 43 out of 51 for strictest states on DUI's, including the District of Columbia, for 2016.
The U.S. has over 1 million arrests each year from drunk driving. In addition, there are near 10,000 deaths and an economic loss of $40 billion each year.
Wallethub compiled a list of strictest states on drunk driving and DUI laws according to 15 different factors. They analyzed fines, minimum jail time for first and second offenses, automatic felony charge and more.
For example, one factor measured was minimum jail time for the first offense. Jail time for the first offense can be ranged between one and 10 days. States with one day of jail time for the first offense get zero points for the study. States with 4-5 days of jail time for the first offense received four points for the study and states with 10 days of jail time for the first offense received 10 points.
Each factor has a list of varying answers, and the worse the penalty is, the more points that state receives.
According to the results, Arizona is the strictest state with a total score of 84.09 percent. Michigan's total score was 32.73 percent and the lowest score was South Dakota with 18.64 percent.
Drunk driving laws became seriously enforced in the 1980's. The crack down has caused a reduction in drunk driving accidents by 57 percent from 1982 to 2014.
Wallethub also includes key findings, information on how the results were obtained, history on drunk driving and more.
To learn more or see where other states rank, visit Wallethub.com.
