With spring break in East Texas and big events like South By Southwest in Austin happening this week, there are thousands of people on the road.  And not all of them are sober.

Backgroundchecks.org crunched a bunch of numbers and ranked all of the states in terms of the number of DUI arrests, accidents, deaths related to DUI, and the number of drivers who admitted to having too much to drink before getting behind the wheel.  It's not pretty.

It seems like everyone knows they're not supposed to drink and drive, and yet it happens.  The idea that one night of bad choices can change a life forever, is not enough to keep Texas drivers stone cold sober.

Texas ranks 12th among states for DUI-related problems.

These are the states that rank ahead of Texas:

1 Wyoming
2 North Dakota
3 South Dakota
4 Montana
5 South Carolina
6 Mississippi
7 New Mexico
8 Kentucky
9 Maine
10 Arkansas
11 Idaho

Heavily populated states like New York and California are not ranked high on the list, which makes us wonder if wide open rural spaces are the prime spots for DUI-related accidents.  That's a little scary, and makes you think differently about that pickup truck coming toward you in rural East Texas.

Texas has actually decreased its DUI troubles by about 8 percent since last year, according to backgroundchecks.org.  So we've improved, but we've go a long way to go.

We're not trying to pop the spring break fun balloon, but it is important to have a heads up on these things.  Oh, and if you're going to go nuts with the green beer on Friday for St. Patrick's Day, call a sober buddy and let him drive you home, ya know?  Texas is counting on you.

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