Tragic Facts about Impaired Driving
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal. Despite this, however, many people continue to do it – and this risky behavior tends to surge around the end of year during festive holiday celebrations for Christmas and New Year’s.
This is one reason that federal transportation officials annually sponsor an anti-impaired driving campaign for the holidays. Operating under the theme of Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, this crackdown is backed by at least 10,000 law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S.
And while that fact alone may be enough to deter motorists from impaired driving over the next few weeks, the following facts about drunk driving can really drivethis point home:
- Drunk drivers are at least four times more likely to be in crashes – This is when motorists have BACs at the legal limit of 0.08. As BACs rise, however, so too does the risk of a crash. In fact, at BACs of 0.15 (nearly double the legal limit), the risk of a crash increases by four times, meaning that these drivers are about 16 times more likely to wreck (than sober drivers). Just some of the reasons for this include that alcohol impairment delays motorists’ reaction times, impairs their perception and impedes coordination and reasonable judgment.
- Every 2 minutes, an impaired driver injures someone in the U.S. – This means that, every day, more than 700 people are hurt in drunk driving crashes and that, annually, at least 262,800 people are injured by impaired drivers. In the worst cases, the injuries caused by these accidents are catastrophic, resulting in permanent impacts to people’s quality of life (if not their ability to live independently).
- Impaired driving causes about 1 in every 3 traffic-related deaths in the U.S. – Annually, this means that more than 9,960 people are killed in impaired driving crashes. Breaking these numbers down, this translates into at least one person being killed in a drunk driving crash every 53 minutes (or so) in the U.S.
- In about 70% of deadly impaired driving crashes, the impaired driver had a BAC of at least 0.15 – While this fact underscores how the risk of fatal wrecks increases as motorists’ BACs increase, it also reveals how the vast majority of deadly impaired driving crashes could be prevented if these drunk drivers had not made the poor decision to get behind the wheel.
Contact Lakewood Car Accident Lawyer James L. Finegan
Have you been injured in an auto accident caused by an impaired or negligent driver? If so, Lakewood Car Accident Lawyer James L. Finegan is here for you, ready to help you advocate your rights to justice and compensation.
Learn more about your options for financial recovery during a free, no obligations case evaluation with Attorney James L. Finegan. To schedule this meeting, call (303) 980-5511 or toll free at (888) 980-5511. You can also send an email via the contact form on this page.
From offices based in Lakewood, CO, James L. Finegan, P.C. provides superior representation to clients throughout Jefferson County and the state of Colorado, including those in Denver County, Arapahoe County, Douglas County, Adams County and the Colorado Front Range region.
