Drinking & Driving - Facts that Affect YOU

Drunk Driving

Driving a motor vehicle while drunk greatly increases the risk of being involved in highway accidents, often resulting in serious injury or death. Drugs that negatively impair a driver’s ability to operate a vehicle in a safe manner may be illegal or may be medication that has been prescribed by your doctor, such as sedatives, tranquilizers, antidepressants and pain relievers. They may even be medicines that you have purchased at the drug store, including cold medicines. Combining alcohol and drugs further increases the risk of highway crashes.

If you are reading this, you may recently have been arrested for DUI (Driving Under the Influence), also known as DWI (Driving While Impaired). The first thing you MUST do is seek the assistance of a skilled DUI attorney as soon as possible. Your specialized DUI defense lawyer will explain the consequences of your arrest and will take you through any pre-trial, trial and sentencing that may apply to your case. He will also request a hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). If this is not done in a timely fashion, your driver’s license may be AUTOMATICALLY SUSPENDED! You may face the impounding or forfeiture of your vehicle, fines and even imprisonment if found guilty of driving under the influence. The definition and penalties associated with a DUI vary from state to state; it is of the utmost importance for you to interview and hire a highly-trained lawyer immediately! DUI Accidents can cause serious damage to you or others.

Safe driving involves multi-tasking and alertness during constantly changing traffic conditions. The use of alcohol or drugs may significantly hamper the skills needed to safely operate an automobile. Research shows that the risk of a car crash increases as the driver’s Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) increases and that the more demanding the driving task (i.e. inclement weather or heavy traffic conditions) the greater the impairment caused by even low BAC levels.

Forty-five out of the 50 states in the US participate inInterstate Driver’s License Compact, where states share information about drivers arrested for DUI/DWI. This program is designed to reduce the incidence of driving under the influence and increase the effectiveness and scope of drunk driving laws already in effect. The only states NOT participating in this program are Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Statistics on Drinking and Driving

Some statistics on drinking and driving:

• A drunk driver kills someone every 39 minutes and injures someone every minute

• Eight teenagers die each day in alcohol-related car accidents

• Motorcycle drivers comprise the highest percentage of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes, followed by light trucks and passenger cars

• The highest percentage of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes are aged 18-24 (it’s not even legal to drink alcohol until you are 21)

• More than half of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes have a BAC of 0.15 (the legal limit is 0.08)

• In the United States, a driver is considered intoxicated (drunk) if BAC is higher than 0.08. In some countries, it is illegal to drive with any alcohol in your system

Vehicular accidents with resultant injury or death that are caused by drunk drivers are totally preventable!

If you are facing a potential DUI charge, fill in our secure free legal evaluation form and one of our DUI attorneys will contact you immediately. Or call us toll free at 800-798-8384. Your information will remain confidential.