Columbia, SC (WLTX) - South Carolina is the worst state in the nation for drunk driving-related deaths, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
The advocacy group bases their claim on data released from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which shows there were 335 drunk driving deaths statewide in 2013, the most recent year for data . Drunk-driving deaths represent 44 percent of all state traffic deaths, which is the highest percentage of any state
The national average is 31 percent.
"Improvements aren't being made fast enough, and it's a shame that we lead the nation in such devastating circumstances," said MADD South Carolina Program Director Steven Burritt in a released statement. "It forces us to ask ourselves as a state once again whether we're doing everything we know we should to drive these numbers down. We know the answer is that we're not."
MADD says even though the overall number of highway deaths dropped 11 percent from 2012 to 2013, the number of drunk driving deaths dropped by only 4 percent.
The group has an ongoing effort called "Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving," which advocates for law enforcement sobriety checkpoints, convicted drunk drivers to use ignition interlock devices, and the development of driver alcohol detection systems in vehicles.
The group praised the passage of Emma's Law in South Carolina in 2014, which expands the use of ignition interlock devices to first-time offenders with a high blood alcohol content.
