San Diego ranked in the top 10 on a list based on the number of DUI offenders in major American cities. According to data by Insurance.com, San Diego is followed by Los Angeles, Indianapolis Jacksonville, Florida and San Francisco.
The large number of DUI offenders in California may seem odd considering that the state has some of the worst penalties for DUI. However, the fact that there are 3 California cities in the top 5 cities for DUI offenders shouldn't really be surprising to any San Diego DUI lawyer. Law enforcement action against DUI is stringent in the Golden State, especially during the holiday season.
Also, just because San Diego ranked at the top of the list, does not necessarily mean that the city has more numbers of intoxicated motorists. A city could rank at close to the top of the list because of the lack of public transportation, which increases the number of intoxicated motorists.
The kind of law enforcement efforts that are conducted to pull impaired motorists off the road, also matter. For instance, you're at a much higher risk of being arrested for DUI in San Diego than you are on a rural road in South Dakota. In San Diego, the California Office of Traffic Safety and the University of California Berkeley conduct regular DUI checkpoints that are targeted at pulling over drivers. Additionally, California cities see more numbers of DUI arrests because of the large volumes of out-of-town traffic, both on business as well as vacation purposes.
For the record, this is the 2nd time in a row that San Diego has been placed at the top of the list. Other cities that were mentioned on the list include Charlotte, San Jose, Fort Worth, Columbus, Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, Houston, New York, Chicago, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Memphis and Detroit.