A Northeast School Corporation bus driver in Farmersburgh, Indiana, was arrested after he allegedly operated a school bus while intoxicated with students, reported WBIW News.

According to the news report, Ryan Campbell was arrested after a staff member detected what she believed to be alcohol while grabbing an item from Bus #2 around 7:49 a.m. on Feb. 5. The staff member reportedly alerted school officials and authorities were contacted.

Chief Matthew Price of the Northeast School Corporation Police Department said he boarded the bus and immediately noticed Campbell exhibited general indicators of intoxication.

Campbell reportedly failed a field sobriety test. A subsequent chemical testing revealed his blood alcohol content was above the legal limit of .04 percent for commercial drivers.

The Sullivan County Prosecutor’s Office is reportedly reviewing two Level 6 felony charges of neglect of a dependent and operating a vehicle while intoxicated with passengers under the age of 18. The judicial system will evaluate the presented evidence to reach a verdict.

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The post Indiana School Bus Driver Arrested for Allegedly Driving While Intoxicated appeared first on School Transportation News.

An Indiana school bus driver was charged with driving while intoxicated after students on her bus reported her driving erratically, reported New York Post.

The incident reportedly occurred on Sept. 20, when 28-year-old Kayla Pier was transporting 32 students from La Porte Middle School to Riley Elementary School.

La Porte County Sheriff’s Office said via the article, that during the drive some of the students reported Pier for her driving behavior and mannerisms.

According to the news report the school’s transportation director, who was not identified in this writing, intercepted the bus and removed the driver, who resigned later that day.

However, the criminal investigation was reportedly not launched until more than a month later, when school officials passed along results from a toxicology test. It was not immediately clear why the test was carried out by the school rather than the authorities.

According to the article, Pier faces charges of operating while intoxicated and neglecting a dependent. The sheriff’s office reportedly commended the courages students aboard the bus who reported the behaviors of their driver. Their actions may have prevented a tragedy from happening.

Pier turned herself into police custody last week and was booked into La Porte County Jail. She was released on bond reported authorities.

Related: Massachusetts School Van Driver Faces DUI, Child Endangerment Charges
Related: Missouri School Bus Driver Arrested for DUI
Related: North Carolina School Bus Driver Charged with DUI
Related: School Bus Driver Could Face Over 20 Years in Prison for DWI

The post Indiana School Bus Driver Charged With DWI appeared first on School Transportation News.

Wisconsin may be known for its cheese, but it’s also home to 10 of the 20 drunkest cities in America, according to a 2024 report from 24/7 Wall St. 2023 data from America’s Health Rankings also showed that Wisconsin had some of the highest levels of heavy, excessive and binge drinking in the United States. A previous DataWatch about Wisconsin health looks at these topics in more depth.

Data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism provides a deeper look at what Wisconsin residents are drinking and how much. Its latest report, released in May 2024, provided data on consumption of various types of alcohol from 1970 to 2022. 

Among Wisconsin’s legal drinking age population, the consumption of beer decreased by 20% from 2012 to 2022, an analysis of that data shows. The average person 21 or older drank about 29.5 gallons of beer in 2022, which is equivalent to about 316 standard drinks. The NIAAA defines a standard drink as the amount of alcoholic beverage it takes to drink 0.6 fluid ounces of ethanol, the “active ingredient” in alcohol. For beer, this is about 12 fluid ounces.

Over the same time period, Wisconsin drinkers consumed 32% more spirits. NIAAA defines a spirit as an alcoholic drink with about 40% alcohol content. The 2022 average was 4.33 gallons per person, equivalent to around 370 standard drinks. A standard drink of spirits is about 1.5 fluid ounces and for wine is generally five fluid ounces. Wine drinking increased by 4% to an average of 3.42 gallons per person, which is about 88 standard drinks.

While the increase in spirits may seem small, the higher ethanol content means people are consuming significantly more “active” alcohol. In 2022, the average strength of ethanol consumed by a person 21 or over across all alcohol was 9.5%. In 2012, the strength was 7.9%.

While total consumption of alcoholic beverages dropped by about 13% between 2012 and 2022, there was a 4% increase in ethanol consumption. Alcoholic beverage consumption averaged about 37.3 gallons per person in 2022. The average ethanol consumption was about 3.55 gallons – roughly equivalent to 760 standard drinks in a year. That averages out to a little over two drinks each day. According to the NIAAA, the daily recommended limit of alcohol is two drinks for men and one drink for women.

Research from the National Cancer Institute indicates that daily alcohol consumption is linked to increased cancer risks across the human body. The National Institutes of Health also reported that long-term alcohol use can increase risk factors for over 200 diseases. It also writes that “no amount of alcohol is ‘safe’ or beneficial for your health.”

DataWatch: Wisconsin residents of legal drinking age consumed 35+ gallons of alcohol a person in 2022 is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.