Most of our Georgia readers know that drunk driving is one of the biggest causes of traffic-related deaths and injuries. Sometimes it seems like it doesn’t matter how much government and private agencies attempt to educate the public about the dangers of drunk driving. It still occurs, and families are shattered when this illegal behavior results in car accidents. In this multi-part series, we will take a look at a seemingly simple question: just how common are drunk driving accidents in America?
The statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will likely shock many of our readers. The most stunning? The CDC reports that a person dies in an alcohol-related car accident every 51 minutes. That is nearly 30 people every day. In 2013 alone over 10,000 people died in car accidents that involved a drunk driver. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many drunk drivers combine alcohol use with drug use.
The fact that drunk driving accidents are so common leads directly to another problem: the costs involved. The CDC estimates that each year the total number of alcohol-related car accidents has an economic impact of about $59 billion.
Drunk driving accidents account for nearly one-third of all traffic-related deaths in America each year. One can only assume that many of these accidents lead to personal injury lawsuits, with the family members of the deceased victims seeking compensation for medical expenses, funeral expenses and pain and suffering.
In the next part of this series, we will take a look at just who is the most at risk of being involved in a drunk driving accident.
Source: CDC.gov, “Impaired Driving: Get the Facts,” Accessed June 14, 2015