You have heard time and time again that it’s important to be sober when you’re behind the wheel, but you don’t personally know anyone who has ever been affected by a drunk driver. You and your friends tend to drive home when tipsy, and no one has ever had any trouble.
That was, until your latest late-night event. You decided to go drinking with your friends, and you drank a little more than usual. Still, you needed to get home, and coming back to get your car tomorrow would have been a hassle. So, you decided to drive home.
This just happened to be the time that you’d get caught. You were able to see that a vehicle ahead of you was stopping, but your reaction time was just too slow. You ended up rear-ending the other driver. You’re facing significant charges related to their injuries and the fact that you were intoxicated.
Intoxication affects many people and leads to injuries and fatalities
In 2014, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that it believed around 31% of fatal crashes that year involved alcohol. In total, there were 9,967 fatalities in alcohol-related crashes that year, which equals around one fatality every 53 minutes.
You know that the legal limit is .08%, but did you know that around 64% of the drivers who were killed in alcohol-impaired crashes had a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or higher? Driving while intoxicated by any amount of alcohol makes you more likely to make errors that could end up causing a serious crash.
How does South Carolina look in relation to the rest of the nation?
In 2015, 300 people died in South Carolina as a result of alcohol-related collisions. In the majority, around 68%, of cases, men were the drivers involved in DUI crashes.
The state is not the worst when it comes to drinking and driving, but there are certainly times when people make mistakes. Drinking and driving is a danger, and you know that. If you decide to drink and drive, you’re putting your life at risk, threatening the lives of others and could end up facing legal penalties.
If you are stopped because of driving while intoxicated or are involved in a crash, you could face serious penalties and charges. You need to take the time to look into your legal options, so you can protect your rights and future.
