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The Dangers of Drinking and Driving
Every day almost 29 people die in the United States because of an impaired drunk driver. That’s one person every 50 minutes. Drinking and driving with a BAC level of 0.08 is illegal for a reason and that is because alcohol, depending on how much you drink, can dramatically impair your motor abilities. You will have some loss of judgment, muscle control, slurred speech, poor coordination, and impaired perception. With a BAC 0.02 in your system, you will already start feeling impairment. You will have a lack of judgment, increased relaxation, slightly increased body temperature, mood swings, decreased visual functionality, and inability to multitask. The legal limit for drunk driving is at 0.08 but that does not mean that it’s safe to drive even below that. The effects you feel can still be detrimental and when you integrate that with driving, tragic events can occur and not only to the driver.
Most times, young drivers have other people with them in their vehicle. This can lead to multiple injuries and fatalities. In 2016, the total numbers of drivers killed were 18, 610 and the total number of passengers killed were 6407. For Non-occupants, close to 6000 pedestrians were killed in 2016. Accidents occur more frequently when there are more people in the car because of the distractions it tends to cause.
Drinking and driving is dangerous, and the groups most likely at risk of doing this are 16 to 20-year-olds. This age group is 10 times more likely to get involved in a fatal car accident than drivers over 21. Drinking and driving has received increasing public awareness in recent years, but it is still one of the top reasons for fatal car accidents especially involving youthful drivers. In 2013, 28.7 million people admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol.
In 2013, a total of 1,149 children 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those 1,149 fatalities, 200 (17%) occurred:
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Results from 2016 Deaths From Alcohol Impaired Driving Available here.
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Results from 2016 Deaths From Alcohol Impaired Driving Available here.
- U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Available here.
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Results from 2016 Deaths From Alcohol Impaired Driving Available here.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014. Available here.
- NHTSA data query, 2013 Available here.
in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. Out of those 200 deaths, 121 (61%) were occupants of vehicles with drivers who had BACS of .08 or higher, and another 29 children (15%) were pedestrians or pedal-cyclists struck by drivers with BACS of .08 or higher.
Drunk Driving is risky, illegal and often deadly. The drunk driver places innocent people-passengers, pedestrians and other drivers in harm’s way. A drunk driver’s careless actions can take life and limb, cause financial ruin and result in imprisonment. With so much at stake-why ever take the chance. Don’t drink and drive, the risks are never worth it.
Jeffrey R Davis has been representing victims of automobile and motor-vehicle accidents since 1986 throughout the state of Florida. If you or a loved one has been in an accident where the other person was drinking and driving, Jeffrey R. Davis P.A can help. Call (305) 577-3777 for a free consultation today and see what Jeffrey R. Davis can do for you.