Many adults in Severna Park drink a beer, glass of wine or a cocktail on occasion. While a single occasional drink may not be a big deal to some, some people will overindulge. This overindulgence becomes problem when a person decides to drive drunk. Drunk driving causes many motor vehicle accidents each year.
The statistics
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that approximately 28 people in the U.S. lose their lives in drunk driving accidents every day. To put it another way, that is one death every 52 minutes. In fact, alcohol plays a role in approximately one-third of traffic deaths. Drunk driving costs over $44 billion in fatalities and damages each year.
Effects of alcohol
In Maryland, if a driver’s blood alcohol concentration is 0.08 or above, they will be considered too drunk to drive safely. It is easy to see why. At a BAC of 0.08 can make it difficult to concentrate, cause short-term memory loss, make it difficult to control the speed you are driving, reduce your reaction time and ability to process information and can impair your judgement.
However, what if your BAC is below the legal limit at 0.05? Does this make it safe to drive? The answer, for some, may be “no.” A driver with a BAC of 0.05 may find it more difficult to track moving objects, steer the wheel. They may also experience a reduction in their coordination and their ability to respond to emergency situations. This can make it dangerous to drive and could easily lead to a motor vehicle accident. In fact, Utah is the only state in the nation where the legal limit is 0.05, not 0.08.
Negligent driving and alcohol
All motorists are tasked with the duty to drive reasonably under the circumstances. Alcohol impairs a driver’s physical and mental capabilities making it a breach of that duty. If that breach causes a car crash and the accident is foreseeable, you may be able to pursue damages. It is important to hold drunk drivers accountable, and one way to do so in some circumstances is to file a personal injury lawsuit.
