How Many People Are Killed Each Day As a Result of Drunk Driving?
Each year, thousands of people die as a result of car crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. While the number of deaths from drunk driving has decreased significantly since the 1980s, there are still a substantial number of fatal accidents that occur each year.
Drunk driving is a serious problem that affects drivers and passengers alike. It can lead to traumatic brain injury, paralysis, severe trauma, and other life-altering injuries. These injuries can impact the lives of those involved in the crash and their families forever.
Injuries sustained in alcohol-related crashes often require years of rehabilitation and recovery. The road to recovery is not an easy one and the victims of these crashes often struggle with depression, anxiety, panic attacks and other issues as a result of their injuries.
Drivers who have had drinking and driving convictions are more likely to be involved in alcohol-related crashes than those who have not. These drivers are also more likely to have a high blood alcohol content (BAC) and to be carrying a concealed weapon.
These factors are important when assessing who is most at risk of being in an alcohol-related crash. A number of States have recently established lower legal BACs for drivers with prior drinking and driving convictions, and research has shown that such laws reduce the proportion of fatal crashes in which those drivers are involved.
Alcohol-related crash risk increases with each 0.02-percent increase in BAC, especially for drivers under age 21 and females. For example, males ages 16 to 20 with a BAC of 0.08 percent are 52 times more likely to be in a fatal crash than drivers with a BAC of zero BAC.
The risk of a fatal crash is increased by the driver’s age and gender, the type of vehicle involved in the accident, whether the victim was a passenger or driver, and the person’s race/ethnicity. The most likely groups to be involved in an alcohol-related crash are young adults, drivers ages 21 to 45, Native Americans and Mexican Americans, people with symptoms of alcohol dependence, and those who have experienced a drunk driving accident.
There are many ways to help prevent alcohol-related traffic crashes, including limiting the number of people who drink, educating teens about the dangers of drinking and driving, raising awareness about the consequences of drunk driving, and enforcing laws against drunk driving. However, it is difficult to prevent all alcohol-related crashes.
Increasing the drinking age to 21 has been associated with a significant reduction in alcohol-related traffic deaths and crashes. In fact, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), drunk driving deaths have dropped by 50 percent in states with drinking and driving laws that require motorists to be at least 21 years of age.
In addition, alcohol-related fatalities have been declining among teenagers whose BAC is less than the current legal limit of 0.08 percent. These deaths are expected to continue to decrease in the coming years as more States adopt a minimum drinking age for drivers under 21.