Gosh, they have such rock-ribbed conservative values -- at least compared to us decadents and libertines up north -- and yet...

Texas leads nation in DWIs, alcohol-related wrecks

Texans can claim yet another dubious first: we drink and drive more than any other citizens in the country.

By extension, we also kill and injure more people doing so....

--San Antonio Express-News

Hmm, why would this be? Two explanations are given:

Texas has such a high number of drunken scofflaws in part because there are simply more people driving more miles than almost any other state.

But even California, where drivers log even more miles, has a lower rate of drunken drivers and deaths....

Texans also need to pay attention to the values that allow drinking and driving to happen, [Michelle] Price [executive director of the South Texas Injury Prevention and Research Center] said.

"We drive too fast," she said, noting that speed combined with alcohol makes for a particularly deadly combination. "And we don't like giving up our liberties here in Texas. Ultimately, too many people just think they can get away with it."...

Or maybe driving to endanger is just Texans' way of paying tribute to George and Laura...

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(I linked the Free Republic reprint of this story. Feel free to go through the infuriating registration process for the Express-News if you want to read the original.)