Apparently, drunken driving rates are the worst in the Upper Midwest. Wisconsin leads all states, followed by North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

A full 23.5 percent of Minnesotans over the age of 18 reported driving while under the influence of alcohol at least once between 2004 and 2006, according to a government report.

Why is this? Allow us to speculate on some reasons:

Much of life in Minnesota revolves around drinking alcohol and in large quantities. Many parts of the country have problems with various forms of drugs, but it the Midwest, historically, the drug of choice has been alcohol. This hasn&8217;t changed in many generations of Midwesterners.

It&8217;s cold, too. It&8217;s hard to get around in the winter without cars.

In the warm months, people in the Upper Midwest get out of the house and to the lakes, cabins, campgrounds, parks, boats or what have you. Drinking is a large part of the summer culture. So is driving. And they often cross paths.

In a place like New England, people think a 20-minute drive is long. In the Upper Midwest, they think a one-hour drive is short. And that&8217;s when they are sober. So when they are drunk, they figure a quick 10-minute ride home from the bar won&8217;t hurt anyone. Of course, they would be wrong.

And the population of the Upper Midwest is largely white. Blacks generally drink at lower rates and at less hazardous rates than whites.

Plus, though there are many church organizations in the Upper Midwest, they aren&8217;t as outspoken &8212; or some might say preachy &8212; as they are in the Bible Belt states, where religious organizations call for temperance.

But here&8217;s the kicker: In the Upper Midwest, we don&8217;t think we are unlike the rest of the country when in fact we are different. We tend to think cops busting drunken drivers is the only solution. We are less likely to employ a measure such as a free drunk bus to bring people home from the bars because, gasp, that would supposedly look bad or somehow admit that people drink. In many places across the country, however, public transportation provides that service.

It&8217;s easier to prevent people from driving than it is to prevent them from drinking. So preventing driving after drinking is where solutions exist.