The tri-state area has lower drunk driving fatality rates compared to the national average, a News 12 Kane in Your Corner investigation finds.

New York and New Jersey rank third and fourth lowest in the U.S. with 1.9 DUI deaths per 100,000 people, while Connecticut ranks 18th with 3.5 per 100,000, according to Walt Kane’s reporting.

The national average stands at 4.1 deaths per 100,000. Despite this, drunk driving deaths nationwide have risen 22% since 2019, per Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Bob Nulman, a MADD ambassador who lost his son Dan to a drunk driver, works to prevent such tragedies. “I want to do something good out of the ashes of the worst thing that ever happened in my life,” Nulman said.

Congress recently passed a bill, supported by MADD, mandating new cars by 2030 to include technology preventing impaired driving, potentially saving 10,000 lives annually. MADD urges parents to discuss drunk driving with their children, with resources here.