Here in the United States, car accidents are very much commonplace. Unfortunately, as many as six million of them will occur over the course of a year in this country alone. And the toll that these car accidents take can be a high one. In that same year, as many as 3 million people will become injured (to varying extents of severity, some sustaining minor injuries but others becoming injured in a truly life changing way). In addition to this, as many as 40,000 people – if not even more – will even lost their lives in various motor vehicle accidents.
And while some motor vehicle accidents are difficult to prevent – such as those that are caused by severe weather conditions that make roads far more dangerous and can decrease overall visibility – many are very much preventable in the grander scheme of things. For instance, drunk driving, as handled but DUII attorneys all throughout the country, is one such incredibly preventable cause. And, as DUII attorneys and those who run DUI diversion programs very much know, the prevalence of drunk driving in the United States has been found to be a particularly high one.
It has even been estimated that there are at least 300,000 people who get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle while they are drunk here in the United States alone. For many of these people, getting caught by the law enforcement officials of the area is unfortunately not a concern, as it has also been found that only around 4,000 of these hundreds of thousands of people are arrested on a daily basis. Of course, this shows that the average habitual drunk driver is typically able to drive drunk as many as 80 times before being caught, endangering people each and every time that said person chooses to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle while they are intoxicated.
And, as DUII attorneys are likely to be all too aware of, driving while drunk takes an incredible toll. After all, a new person becomes injured in a drunk driving related incident for every two minutes that pass here in the United States alone, no matter what time of the day or the night it might be. In addition to this, as many as 28 people will lose their lives over the course of an average day in this country, all thanks to the prevalent of drunk driving. But DUII attorneys also know that it doesn’t end with drunk driving.
Even people who don’t drive while drunk might instead still get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated in some way, shape, or form. And the data that has been gathered on the subject more than backs up this claim. In fact, more than 15% (around 16%, to be more precise) of all car accidents can be attributed to driving under the influence of a substance that is not alcohol – and more than ten million people (closer to ten and a half million people, as a matter of fact) admitted to driving while under the influence of such substances back in the year of 2012 alone. Unfortunately, DUII attorneys have seen that drugs other than alcohol are a huge problem and a huge safety concern on the roads all throughout the United States.
Such drugs encompass a wider category than many people realize, a far wider scope than most would think. Of course, illegal drugs are unsafe to drive while under the influence of – this is something that the majority of us are really very well aware of. But legal drugs can be hazardous too, especially when a person has just begun to take them. When first taking any type of medication, it is hugely important to be particularly cautious surrounding driving until it is known exactly how that medication effects you. For many people, it will end up being a non issue but it is still far better to be safe than to be sorry, as DUII attorneys are all too aware of in the United States.
