The Drunk Driving Problem in America

Drunk driving accidents happen every day across the country and around the world despite the widespread knowledge that drinking and driving are very dangerous. Drunk driving isn’t just hazardous it is also illegal. In 2018, approximately 29% of all deaths that happened in traffic accidents involved alcohol-impaired drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that also in 2018 of the over 36,000 people that were killed in all traffic accidents, approximately 10,511 of them were the result of drunk driving accidents. The NHTSA also indicated that 67% of the drunk driving deaths that year had a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 or higher.

Drunk driving is a problem in the United States, and it causes much pain and destruction. If you have lost a loved one or were injured at the hands of a drunk driver, you deserve legal representation that will get you all of the compensation you need for the unfair damages you had to endure. The Arizona car accident attorneys at ELG can help you if a negligent drunk driver hit you and caused you harm.

Surprising Drunk Driving Accident Facts

There are many organizations and federal agencies that promote and educate the public on the many perils that exist with drunk driving. Yet Americans still hit the road inebriated or with elevated BAC levels above the legal limit. Even though law enforcement is out on our roads and always keeping an eye on erratic drivers to protect the public from potential drunk drivers, they don’t catch every single one every single time. This is why drunk driving accidents happen. 

Some interesting facts about drunk driving include:

• Across the globe, the United States ranks third in the world for the highest amount of drunk driving incidents.
• The way your mood is affected by alcohol can predict your ability for an accident. If alcohol causes you to become angry and aggressive, you are a higher risk driver to cause an accident if you are inebriated while driving. The statistics say that aggressive drunk drivers cause 50%  of all the reported drunk driving accidents.
• Since every drunk driver is not caught, the actual number of drunk drivers on the road is unknown.
• The majority of drunk driving accidents take place in drivers aged 21 to 24.
• According to Mothers against Drunk Driving, 95% of people who become addicted to alcohol consumed alcohol before they reached 21 years of age. Of all the drunk driving crashes reported, one quarter is caused by underage drunk drivers. 
• Legal and illegal drugs were the cause of 16% of accidents where a driver was under the influence of substances.
• There are several injuries and physical bodily harm that can happen to victims of drunk driving accidents but spinal cord injuries are the most commonly reported injuries after these types of incidents.

Speak with an Arizona Serious Injury Attorney Today

Driving comes with a tremendous amount of risk because it is impossible to control the behavior of other drivers or the changes in the environment and unexpected hazards that exist. When a driver willingly gets behind the wheel while they are inebriated on drugs or alcohol they put everyone at risk of injury and death because the chances for an accident increase substantially. Schedule your free consultation with the Arizona serious injury attorneys at ELG today if you have been injured in an Arizona traffic accident at (623) 877-3600.