If you live in certain areas of the country, you might be very aware of the pattern. People go out, stay out, and assume they can muscle their way home. Then the numbers show up, and they aren’t pretty. A new analysis lays out where this problem hits hardest and which cars land most often in DUI records.

Here at MotorBiscuit, we come across a lot of Florida Man stories. Naturally, then, I expected the state to show up high on the list.

But nope. It’s not even in the top 10 cities list. Sorry, Florida!

Suzuki Law Firm pulled citation data from the 50 largest U.S. cities. Here’s what it found.

One place stands out on drunk driving

Omaha, Nebraska posts 4.48 drunk driving citations per 1,000 drivers. Huh. How about that.

For context, the 50-city average sits much lower at 1.90.

The next couple probably aren’t too much of a shock, considering the state hosts the largest population.

Two California cities pile in right behind Omaha for the most DUIs per 1,000 drivers

San Jose and Sacramento take second and third at 3.68 and 3.55.

Researchers explained that warm weather, social drinking, and thin transit options can push people into their cars when they should do anything but give themselves a ride.

Here’s the top 10

Numbers show drunk driving citations per 1,000 drivers:

• Omaha, Nebraska 4.48
• San Jose, California 3.68
• Sacramento, California 3.55
• Virginia Beach, Virginia 3.46
• Fresno, California 3.31
• Minneapolis, Minnesota 3.30
• Long Beach, California 2.83
• Bakersfield, California 2.78
• Oakland, California 2.76
• New York, New York 2.73

At the opposite end, cities like Chicago, Tulsa, and Philadelphia report far fewer DUIs per capita

Those cluster around 0.45 to 0.66.

But fatal crashes tell another story.

El Paso, Texas carries the worst share with 60.8% of its deadly wrecks involving an impaired driver

Several Texas cities follow, including Fort Worth, Houston, Dallas, and Arlington.

California’s high citation cities don’t appear in the fatality top 10, which shows how uneven the problem can be.

What cars are people driving when they pick up DUIs?

The firm’s study shows BMW drivers top the list with 3.09 violations per 1,000 drivers.

Ram trucks follow at 3.00. Acura, Audi, Volvo, Subaru, Cadillac, GMC, Jeep, and Ford round out the top ten.

The least-cited crowd features Mercury, Land Rover, Lincoln, Pontiac, Buick, Chrysler, Mercedes Benz, Infiniti, Hyundai, and Kia.

Researchers also looked at overall incident rates through the end of 2024. Tesla drivers showed the most combined incidents nationwide. Ram drivers were the worst in the highest number of states.

Some cities need stronger DUI prevention and supportive infrastructure measures

And everyone needs to leave the keys alone when the night runs long.