DUI driver arrests around Atlanta rise around the holidays. Tragically many of the arrests occur only AFTER someone is injured or killed in an alcohol related accident.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, across the United States during 2007, 12,998 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. These alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities accounted for 32 percent of the total motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the United States.
That means nearly one-third of those who died in traffic accidents in our nation during 2007 died at the hands of a drunk driver. Those 12,998 deaths represent an average of one person losing their life to a drunk driver every 40 minutes. What a national tragedy.
Every one of those deaths was preventable - they could easily have been prevented.
Please be careful this holiday season. There are some common sense precautions you can take during Christmas and the New Year period to stay out of harm's way.
First, in 2007 the rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes was four times higher at night than during the day. So stay off the roads at night as much as possible.
In 2007, 15 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes during the week were alcohol-impaired, compared to 31 percent on the weekends. Try to do your driving during the week and stay off the roads on weekends, when the number of drunk drivers peaks.
Finally, keep your children at home! In 2007, 15 percent of child traffic deaths occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. This statistic is sure to be higher when you consider only the winter holiday season.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a drunk driver, please contact our Atlanta accident injury law firm and ask to speak to me, Attorney Peter Pearson. I will do whatever I can to help you.
Sources -
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.6a6eaf83cf719ad24ec86e10dba046a0/
