(WTAJ) — As the holiday season approaches, arrests for driving under the influence (DUI) tend to see a spike, and some counties in Pennsylvania see bigger spikes than others, research shows.
Using the FBI Crime Data Explorer and records from 2020-2024, researchers at Wilk Law Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers compared county-level arrest figures to population data to identify the top Pennsylvania counties where impaired driving arrests peak in November.
The county average of DUI arrests per 100,000 residents in Pennsylvania is eight. However, Potter County leads the list of arrests by more than 700 percent above average. Perry, Fulton, McKean and Forest counties round out the top five, in that order. You can view the top 10 stats in the chart below.
Top 10 Pennsylvania Counties Worst for Drunk Driving During Thanksgiving Month
County
November DUI Arrests per 100,000 Residents
Rank
Potter
65
1
Perry
56
2
Fulton
54
3
McKean
37
4
Forest
36
5
Armstrong
34
6
Cameron
32
7
Clinton
30
8
Venango
29
9
Somerset
27
10
According to the data, most of the top five, excluding Forest, had zero DUI arrests reported in November 2020, the first holiday season during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While some counties exceeded the average for DUI arrests from 2020-2024, others recorded zero DUI arrests, including Adams, Beaver, Bedford and Bucks, according to Wilk Law researchers.
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Wilk Law is a Pennsylvania-based law firm representing victims in vehicle collisions, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, premises liability, and wrongful death.
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