Drunk Driving Facts For Your Consideration
Some Facts About Drunk Driving
As my goal with this blog is to educate my readers in the hope that you all will practice safe driving and instill in your family and friends the need to do the same. Today I thought I would share some specific information about drunk driving compiled by Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) using statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
On average a human being loses their life at the hands of a drunk driver every 45 minutes. In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashes, a decline of 9.8 percent from the 13,041 drunk driving related fatalities of 2007.
About three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives.
Over 1.46 million drivers were arrested in 2006 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of 1 for every 139 licensed drivers in the United States.
In 2001, more than half a million people were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present an average of one person injured almost every minute.
Since 1980 (the year Mothers Against Drunk Driving was founded), alcohol-related traffic fatalities have decreased nearly 50 percent, from over 30,000 to under 15,500 and MADD has helped save over 383,000 lives.
Alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost the public an estimated $114.3 billion in 2000, including $51.1 billion in monetary costs and an estimated $63.2 billion in quality of life losses. People other than the drinking driver paid $71.6 billion of the alcohol-related crash bill, which is 63 percent of the total cost of these crashes.
In 2007, 84 percent (12,068) of the 14,447 drivers with a BAC of .01 or higher who were involved in fatal crashes had BAC levels at or above .08, and 55 percent (7,974) had BAC levels at or above .15. The most frequently recorded BAC level among drinking drivers in fatal crashes was .16.
Only 17 percent of impaired drivers who are injured in crashes are charged and convicted. Eleven percent are charged and not convicted and 72 percent are never charged. The last statistic is interesting and seems to be a statistic that should be directed at our local and state prosecutors for an answer.
If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident involving a drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies. If you are considering handling the followup to an accident on your own you owe it to yourself to at least check out our website and familiarize yourself with the process you face. The best law firms provide free consultations. At Phillip Miller & Associates we provide free consultations for the victims and their families.
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