San Antonio among 5 U.S. cities with highest risk for drunk-driving fatalities

In case anyone needs more proof San Antonio has a drunk-driving problem, a new study named it as the U.S. city with the fourth-highest risk of DUI fatalities.

Only Austin, Chicago and Dallas, in respective order, beat out the Alamo City in that dubious distinction, according to a ranking compiled by San Francisco-based Summit Defense Criminal Lawyers.

Researchers for the law firm analyzed data from major U.S. cities on their number of fatal crashes involving drivers with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher, their percentage of fatal road accidents caused by drunk driving and the share of their adult population that engages in binge drinking. Cities were then ranked on their composite scores, highest to lowest.

In San Antonio, 82.11% of crashes that end in death are due to drunk drivers — the second-highest number among cities included in the study. Binge drinkers also comprise more than 19.9% of the city’s overall population, according to the numbers.

The report follows other studies highlighting San Antonio’s much-higher-than-average record for impaired driving.

A 2021 analysis put SA near the top of the list for DUI arrests, and a 2020 study showed us beating out every other U.S. city for drunk-driving busts over a 10-year stretch. A report from last year ranked Texas as No. 2 in the nation for its drunk-driving problem, also pointing out at that the state’s rate of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes is double the national average.

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This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2025.