DRUNK IN HB . . . BY THE NUMBERS

January 27, 2011 The 2009 study from the State of California Office of Traffic Safety was just released.

The following statistics include information from the California Department of Finance, Caltrans, California Highway Patrol and California Department of Justice.

1) There are 480 cities in the state of California.

2) Based on population, Huntington Beach is the 20th largest city in the state.

3) Based on all cities with a population of 100,000 or more (there are 69), Huntington Beach has the most Alcohol Related Traffic Accidents per capita than another other city in the state.

That makes us #1 for 2009; worse than the 19 largest cities in California including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and 15 other cities larger than Huntington Beach in population. And we’re on a downward trend starting with our 2006 ranking of 8, then 7, then 4 in 2008, and now we’re #1.

4) In terms of just pure numbers (not per capita) of Alcohol Related Traffic Accidents, Huntington Beach is #8 in the state. We had 17% more Alcohol Related Traffic Accidents than Long Beach which has a population 2-1/2 times larger than Huntington Beach. What are they doing right and what are we doing wrong?

5) The California Office of Traffic Safety groups Huntington Beach in Category “B” – cities with a population between 100,000 and 250,000. There are 56 cities in this group and here are the statistics for Huntington Beach:

OUR RANKING

#7 Population

#2 Number of Alcohol Related Traffic Accidents

#1 Alcohol Related Traffic Accidents per Capita

#1 Number of DUIs

#4 DUIs per Capita

#1 DUIs per DVMT (Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled)

As a community, we need to understand why this is happening, who is to blame, and how we can fix it. Stay tuned to this website; the answers to these questions and much more information is coming soon.

And remember, this is NOT a “Downtown” issue. Alcohol Related Traffic Accidents and DUIs happen all over Huntington Beach at all hours of the day and night.

Please join the HBDRA by clicking the “JOIN HBDRA” tab at the top of this page. There is strength in numbers: add your voice to ours.