A wide range of negligent acts causes motor vehicle accidents. Speeding, reckless driving, and texting carry serious consequences. Drunk driving is in a category of its own. Collisions caused by impaired drivers go beyond negligence. Getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol puts every motor vehicle driver and passenger sharing the road in danger.
Drunk Driving Deaths Drop
Recently released data shows promising statistics when it comes to drunk driving rates, both in Arkansas and throughout the country. However, DUIs still occur nationwide at an alarming rate, with an average of one death every 48 minutes. Those operating their vehicles under the influence accounted for 29 percent of all fatalities throughout the United States in 2017.
A recent study by Butler Wooten Peak revealed that from 1991 to 2017, drunk driving death rates dropped by nearly 50 percent in the United States. Younger drivers, specifically those 21 and younger, saw a reduction of 68 percent. While the results are promising from the most recent data, troubling trends continue in a wide swath of states nationwide.
Arkansas’ alcohol-impaired fatalities contributed 140 deaths to the nationwide total of nearly 11,000 in 2017. Fifteen of those tragedies were drivers under 21, the legal age to purchase and consume alcohol in The Natural State. Nearly 79 percent of those deaths involved drivers with a .15 or higher blood alcohol concentration.
Victims and family members impacted by these tragic events want justice. While the negligent driver faces criminal consequences, civil damages are an avenue to pursue where another form of justice can be served.