By Haley Pritchett

TheStatehouseFile.com 

INDIANAPOLIS— Indiana was ranked the 15th riskiest state to travel to this fall.

QuoteWizard, an insurance comparison platform, analyzed traffic safety and COVID-19 information from each state to come up with rankings.

Indiana was ranked 22nd in the country for the highest health risk. These rankings were calculated by the number of citizens vaccinated, hospital capacity, COVID-19 deaths, and the seven-day moving average for infections.

The biggest red flag for Hoosiers was vaccination statuses. Indiana ranked ninth in the country for the most unvaccinated citizens.

With 5,240 positive cases from Sept. 6 to 8, Indiana has hit the highest number of cases by day since January.

On Sept.1, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order after extending the state of emergency until Sept. 30. In that order, hospitals and schools were given more guidance. No mask mandate was made.

Quote Wizard noted that airline travel will not be as popular this fall due to COVID-19, so driving risks were calculated as well.

Indiana came out as the 20th riskiest state to drive in. This rating was calculated by driving-under-the-influence tickets, accidents and speeding.

For DUIs, Indiana ranked 16th.

According to Responsibility.org, in 2018, 227 Hoosiers were killed in drunk driving incidents.

In August, Holcomb and Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Executive Director Devon McDonald gave out 65 Traffic Safety-All-Star Awards to officers that in total had made 3,163 DUI arrests in 2020.

A release from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute stated that drunk driving has been on the rise. Seventeen percent of last year’s traffic fatalities were alcohol-related.

FOOTNOTE: Haley Pritchett is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.