It’s a sobering thought: nearly one in four Wisconsin drivers drove intoxicated in the past year. Wisconsin ranked number one in a recent poll as the state with the highest percentage of drivers who admit to driving drunk in the past year – 23.7 percent.

“The one day you wipe somebody out, you kill somebody or kill their families or some law enforcement officer on the side of the road, your life will change forever,” says Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke.

The report says responsible alcohol sales, sobriety checkpoints and substance abuse treatment could help reduce the problem. Clarke says criminalizing the first offense in Wisconsin would help the problem as well.

“If the circuit court system in milwaukee county would send a different message, a clear and convincing message that if you decide to drive on wisconsin’s roadways in milwaukee county we’re ready to bring it in terms of severe consequences to that behavior,” he said.

In the study, conducted by researchers of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 10 million Americans admitted to driving while on illicit drugs in the past year, including 5 percent of Wisconsin drivers.

Fortunately, Wisconsin does not top this category – Rhode Island does.

As startling as all of these numbers are, they’re actually slightly down from a previous study.

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