While St. Patrick's Day began as a way to commemorate the fifth-century death of Ireland's patron saint, it has become a chance for folks around the world to throw on their finest green and gather for drinks with friends. Of course, this isn't the only time of the year when people indulge in alcohol. According to World Population Review, the U.S. ranks 25th globally for alcohol consumption, with the average American drinking about 2.35 gallons of the intoxicant each year. Drinking isn't all fun and games, though. Crashes involving drunk drivers are often devastating, and can lead to perpetrators facing serious consequences. Aside from legal punishments, people with a DUI on their record will often find it difficult to obtain affordable car insurance — if they can find anyone to insure them at all. According to Forbes, the average auto insurance increase for those with a DUI is 74%. This works out to about $1,470 a year more in premiums on average. Those who live to shell out extra cash for insurance are the lucky ones, though. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about 28 people die every day in the United States in drunk-driving crashes. These accidents make up around one-third of traffic fatalities. While the NHTSA reports drunk-driving deaths in 2019 reached their lowest level since 1982, the year still saw over 10,000 fatalities due to impaired drivers, and the CDC says these accidents add up to a cost of nearly $44 billion. In this slideshow, we look at the 10 states with the highest average alcohol consumption per capita according to World Population Review, as well as those states' DUI statistics from Responsibility.org.

Related:

• These U.S. cities see the most DUI citations
• Nearly half of Americans admit to drinking & driving
• How a DUI affects insurance