Okinawa has the highest rate of accidents causing injury or death involving drunk drivers in Japan
Chart showing the rate of accidents causing injury or death involving drunk drivers.
February 28, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo
Okinawa has had the highest rate of accidents causing injury or death involving drunk drivers in Japan for 24 consecutive years.
The Okinawa Prefectural Police announced the statistics on February 27.
The figures showed Okinawa has the highest number of drunk drivers arrested for every 1,000 people in Japan. The prefecture also had the highest car-accident death rate involving drunk drivers for the first time in four years.
Okinawa has been promoting to prevent drunk driving since the zero blood alcohol law was passed in 2009. However, it hasn’t decreased the rate.
According to the Okinawa Prefectural Police, 6,664 accidents causing injury or death occurred in Okinawa in 2013. Among the accidents, about two percent (134 cases) involved drunk driving. The number was about 2.8 times the national average. The figure increased by 0.13 percent from about 1.88 percent in 2012.
The number of the drunk drivers arrested was 1,353, which is 1 in every 10,000 people in Okinawa. It was about 4.3 times the national average. In 2013, 22 accidents causing injury or death involving drunk drivers occurred from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. The number of accidents caused by driving with a hangover was the highest.
The police carried out the survey on people arrested for drunk driving in 2013. Among 1,000 respondents, over 90 percent drove under the influence of alcohol within five kilometers from their home.
Atsushi Yogi of the Okinawa Prefectural Police said, “People drive under the influence of alcohol without careful consideration. I would like people to realize that drunk driving is a serious crime that could lead to accidents causing injury or death.”
(English translation by T&CT)
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