Drunk Driving Accidents Are Frightening
We don't want to alarm or upset you, but we don't believe you can have a
serious web site about drunk driving issues without a discussion of the
facts and figures regarding drunk driving accidents.
According to statistics maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 17,013 people were killed in drunk driving accidents in 2003-an average of one death almost every half-hour. These deaths constituted approximately 40 percent of the 42,642 total traffic deaths in 2003. And this does not include drug-related crashes-which are also penalized under most DWI and DUI laws. In short, alcohol is the leading cause of motor vehicle deaths and injuries in the United States.
Many people believe they can drive without any problems with a few drink sin their system. The facts do not support this widely held belief. The risk of a driver being killed in a crash with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 is at least 11 times that of drivers without alcohol in their system. At .10 BAC, the risk is at least 29 times higher. More than 20 percent of alcohol-related traffic deaths involve BAC levels below .10 percent. In fact, some studies conclude that a blood alcohol level as low as .02 affects your ability to drive and increases the likelihood of an accident. The probability of a crash begins to increase significantly at a blood alcohol content of .05 percent and climbs rapidly above .08 percent.
