“Death is inevitable, but life – that’s the tricky bit where things happen,” Simon Travaglia. Morbid yet true, over 10,000 Americans arrive at death’s door unexpectedly each year. What if these 10,000 lives could be spared? Life is where things happen. Life is where we make decisions. These 10,000 deaths are preventable; these 10,000 deaths are the annual result of drunk driving.
Many other countries have lowered the legal limit for blood alcohol content to 0.05 while the United States remains at 0.08. This is, however, an improvement from the 0.15 legal limit observed in some states as recent as 2004. Per the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) lowering the legal limit to 0.05 would save an estimated 500 to 800 lives annually. An additional precaution we could be seeing soon is an ignition interlock device. This would require motorist who have received a DUI to blow into a breathalyzer to operate their vehicle.
Drunk driving is 100% preventable. With companies like Uber and Lyft it is easier and cheaper than ever before to get a safe ride home. A $20-dollar ride is far cheaper than the price of a DUI. Guilty drunk drivers will be paying on average $13,000-$27,000 in expenses like bail, court fees, towing, and alcohol treatment programs. This is for first-time offenders. Repeat offenders will see significantly higher costs. These number do not consider the likelihood of one’s job being lost due to the amount of time required in a court room or a career that requires driving a vehicle. The cost to insure a convicted driver will also skyrocket. If convicted, a DUI will stay on the guilty party’s record for 10 years. Most drunk drivers have driven drunk approximately 80 times before they are ever arrested.
The National Highway and Transportation Administration found that one in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime.
If you have been involved in an accident with a drunk driver, call The Morrissey Law Firm.
The Morrissey Law Firm, PC, is located in Springfield, Missouri, and focuses in personal injury and wrongful death trial work. If you need a personal injury or wrongful death attorney, please visit our website or call (417) 887-0529 to schedule a consultation.