Drunk driving crashes killed more than 13,000 people across the U.S. in 2021. Based on these numbers, over 31% of all crash fatalities involved at least one driver with a blood-alcohol content over the legal limit.
In Arizona, drunk drivers injure or kill thousands of people annually. Sadly, these numbers include nearly 400 children injured and about two dozen children killed each year by drivers intoxicated by drugs or alcohol. You cannot prevent all collisions with drunk drivers, but you can take a few steps to reduce the odds that your family will be injured or killed in these crashes. Contact a lawyer if you’ve been in a car accident caused by a drunk driver and injured you.
Drunk Driving Crashes
Impaired driving crashes present a frustrating problem because drunk drivers can prevent all of them. The availability of designated drivers, taxis, and rideshares has rendered drunk driving entirely avoidable.
Drugs and alcohol affect a driver’s abilities in several ways, including:
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Increasing risk-taking behaviors
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Impairing judgment of speed and distance
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Slowing reflexes
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Interfering with coordination
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Reducing alertness and increasing information processing time
While suffering from these impairments, drivers become much more likely to crash. At a blood alcohol content (BAC) of just 0.02%, a driver is more than twice as likely to crash. At a BAC of 0.08%, the legal limit in 49 states, a driver’s crash risk may be as much as 12 times higher than the crash risk of a sober driver.
Five Ways To Protect Your Family
You can take steps to reduce your risk of a drunk driving crash. According to the statistics, you can protect your family from drunk drivers in the following ways:
1. Drive Sober
Contrary to popular belief, the most likely person to die in an impaired driving crash is the impaired driver. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 62% of fatalities in drunk driving crashes were impaired drivers.
A few factors go into this statistic. First, single-vehicle drunk driving crashes are common. In the 2022 Arizona Crash Facts Report, over 49% of drunk driving crashes involved only the drunk driver’s vehicle. Second, in a multi-vehicle crash, the drunk driver often cannot perform emergency maneuvers like swerving or slamming on the brakes to protect themselves.
By driving sober, you protect yourself as well as any family members riding with you. If you are not sober, you should allow a sober family member to drive you.
2. Limit Night Driving
Although impaired driving crashes can happen at any time of the day, they tend to happen late at night or early in the morning. In 2022, the Crash Facts Report stated that nearly 67% of Arizona’s impaired driving crashes happened in the dark.
Three factors go into this number. First, alcohol consumption often happens after work hours. Second, darkness makes driving more difficult, particularly when a driver’s faculties are impaired by drugs or alcohol. Darkness also makes it harder for sober drivers to spot drunk drivers on the road. Third, fatigue can amplify the effects of drugs and alcohol on a driver’s abilities.
In Arizona, impaired driving crashes on weekdays rose around 5 p.m. and plateaued until about 3 a.m. On weekends, these crashes started rising around midnight before peaking at 2 a.m. If you can avoid driving late at night or early in the morning, you should do so.
3. Exercise Extra Care On Holidays
Holidays often correspond to spikes in drunk driving crashes. Even responsible drinkers feel free to overindulge when they have time off from work. Social gatherings such as Fourth of July barbecues and New Year’s Eve parties frequently involve alcohol. Finally, increased demand and a limited number of drivers may make it harder to hail a taxi or rideshare on holidays.
If you plan to drink at a holiday get-together, have a plan for driving your family home. Pick a designated driver or arrange for a ride. If you refrain from drinking, drive defensively, watching for intoxicated drivers at intersections and on highway on-ramps and off-ramps. It’s also a good idea to try to get home before drunk drivers hit the road.
4. Wear Seat Belts
Seat belts and child car seats can significantly reduce your risk of injury or death in a crash. Front-seat occupants who buckle up reduce their risk of a fatal crash injury by up to 45% — and their risk of a serious crash injury by up to 50% — compared to unbuckled front-seat occupants.
Equally importantly, child car seats prevent children from flying around the car in a car collision. These safety systems reduce the risk of injury by up to 82% for small children and up to 45% for grade-school-aged children.
According to the crash facts report, the most common type of drunk driving collision is a rear-end crash. The most common fatal drunk driving collision is a head-on crash. In both cases, seat belts and car seats can stop you and your children from hitting the steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield. They can also prevent you from getting ejected from the vehicle.
5. Teach Your Kids
Protecting your family from drunk drivers means educating your children about the risks of drunk driving. If they avoid driving while intoxicated or riding with intoxicated friends, they have a much better chance of avoiding a car accident.
One of the most dangerous misconceptions that has appeared recently concerns marijuana use. When Arizona legalized recreational possession and use of marijuana, the number of stoned drivers increased.
Many young people mistakenly believe that stoned driving became legal with the decriminalization of marijuana. Even those who realize that stoned driving remains illegal may also believe they can drive safely while stoned.
Another common scenario in intoxicated driving crashes involves over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Drivers sometimes assume that these therapeutic drugs are always safe, particularly compared to street drugs, marijuana, or alcohol. But many drugs, including allergy pills and cold medicine, can cause drowsiness and impairments on par with alcohol.
Teach your children to avoid driving or riding with anyone who has used any type of substance that can impair their driving ability.
What To Do After A Drunk Driving Crash
Some drunk driving crashes happen despite your best efforts to avoid them. An impaired driver can crash into you at any time of day and in any manner. Contact a lawyer if you’ve been in a car accident caused by a drunk driver.
