More than 10,000 people died in 2016 in alcohol-related crashes

On Behalf of | Jan 13, 2018 | Personal Injury

As long as vehicles and alcohol have been around, the issue of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol has been “a thing.” As the years have passed, cars have become more powerful, but also safer. Alcohol has become more widely available, and is enjoyed by many people all across the country. But the cross section of these two activities remains a problem.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 29 people die every day in a drunk driving-related accident. Even though drunk driving deaths have steadily fallen in the last few decades, there are still far too many people that lose their lives as a result of a driver’s negligent decision to consume alcohol and operate a vehicle. In 2016, 10,497 people died in alcohol-related accidents.

One of the misconceptions about drunk driving is that “some people are okay after a couple of drinks.” While there are a lot of different biological factors that go into a person’s sobriety or intoxication, the blood alcohol concentration level of a person will have a remarkable impact on their cognitive abilities. Hand-eye coordination continues to decline as a person’s BAC goes up, and their decision making abilities also suffer.

Drunk driving accidents have an immense personal and financial cost attached to them. They wreak havoc on road safety, and the victims of these accidents need to consider their legal position in the wake of such an unfortunate incident.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Drunk Driving,” Accessed Jan. 11, 2018

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