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Editor: Bob Battle
Profession: DUI Defense Lawyer

FOXNews.com reports that according to a recent government report, 15 percent of adult drivers across the U.S. report driving under the influence of alcohol within the past year. It also says that the upper Midwest states have the worst rate of drunken driving in the U.S.

Wisconsin was the state with the highest rate, with an estimated rate of over a quarter of adult drivers in the state having driven under the influence. North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota were the remaining "bottom five."

The state reported to have the lowest rate of DUI was Utah. Utah was the only state with less than 10 percent of adult drivers reported to have driven drunk. The remaining top five were a group of Southern states that typically fare poorly on government health statistics. West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina were all reported to have DUI rates of less than 11 percent.

The report relies on data taken from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. A total of 127,283 adults were asked in 2004, 2005, and 2006 whether or not they had driven drunk within the previous year. According to health experts, other surveys were supported by the state-by state breakdowns showing that residents of northern states are more likely to consume alcohol heavily.

Driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or over is illegal.