Drunk drivers make a decision to get behind the wheel of the vehicle after drinking. They have other options, but most of the time, they think they are fine to drive. This can be a disastrous decision.
Victims of drunk driving crashes often have serious injuries. These crashes are sometimes fatal. In fact, Arizona’s death rate for drunk driving crashes is slightly above the death rate for the country as a whole.
The dismal death rate
The death rate for the United States and Arizona is based on the number of deaths from drunk driving crashes per 100,000 people of the population. In the United States, there is a death rate from drunk driving crashes of 3.3 people. The age group with the highest death rate is 21 to 34 years old, and males have a higher death rate than females.
In Arizona, the overall death rate is 3.6 people per 100,000. Even though this is a higher rate than the nation as a whole, a lower percentage of residents report that they have driven after drinking too much within a 30-day period. The national percentage was 1.9 percent, but Arizona’s was only 1.7 percent.
Deaths aren’t the only issue
Fatal drunk driving crashes aren’t the only ones that occur. Many drunk driving crashes lead to injuries. On average, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash every two minutes in the U.S. While some of these can be minor, more serious injuries do occur. Victims of drunk driving crashes might suffer from broken bones, spinal cord damage, or brain injuries. These can have long-lasting impacts on the victims.
When serious injuries occur, the victims are left to try to pick up the pieces and move on with life. This can mean making major life changes when the injuries are catastrophic. Lengthy medical care plans and the need for personal care assistance might occur. These are costly impacts of the drunk driving crash injury.
All of these crashes are preventable
One troubling factor about drunk driving is that somewhere between 50 and 75 percent of people convicted of drunk driving were driving without a valid driver’s license. Before a first arrest, most drunk drivers will have driven drunk at least 80 times. This is a sobering fact because it shows the extent of the issue.
When a person is injured in a drunk driving crash or lose a loved one in a drunk driving crash, you can opt to seek compensation for the financial damages you suffered. This is possible whether or not the person has to face criminal charges.
