Bakersfield ranks 5th in the country for DUIs: Data

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — New data released this week shows that Bakersfield ranks among the top 10 major cities with the highest DUI rates in the country.

Bakersfield isn’t the only California city in the top 10, in fact, there are seven in those ranks.

The data shows Bakersfield ranking 5th in the highest DUI rate, just behind three other California Cities.

The top five cities were Raleigh, North Carolina, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Jose, and then Bakersfield.

The data is part of an analysis by LendingTree, a financial reporting website, that analyzed tens of millions of insurance quotes and found which 50 largest cities have the highest DUI rates.

Generation Z drivers, those ages 16 to 27 years old, account for the most DUI arrests among all generations ranked at 39 out of 1,000 drivers, and more motorists were arrested for DUI driving Cadillacs than any other vehicle

Jorge Toro, Public information officer of the California Highway Patrol is not surprised by these numbers, “Usually, driving under the influence and a fatality kind of go hand-in-hand.”

For this year, CHP has made 750 DUI arrests in Bakersfield as of July and the numbers continue to trend upward, with nearly 1,400 in 2021, more than 1,300 in 2022, and 1,450 in 2023.

In California, a 4th DUI– when there is no fatal crash– is considered a felony.

Attorney Matt Clark says a felony charge should come sooner, “If you can’t learn your lesson after the first or second time you’re not gonna learn your lesson.”

Clark, says his office deals with 10 to 20 DUI cases per year, “We are normally year in and year out known as one of the most dangerous places in the country to live if you’re looking at chances being involved in a drunk driving crash.”

Clark handled a case where two kids were killed at an elementary school bus stop because a lady was driving intoxicated for the sixth time, “Why do two children have to die in order to get this particular lady off the streets?”

California Highway Patrol announced that for Labor Day weekend starting Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 they will start a statewide maximum enforcement Period. 2023’s Labor Day had over a thousand DUI arrests in California.

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