We’re all aware of the dangers of drinking and driving, but despite this awareness, impaired driving accidents continue to happen. Even with our increased knowledge of what happens when someone who’s been drinking gets behind the wheel of a car and drives, people continue doing it, and as a result, serious injury and death continue to occur because of drunk drivers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released state-by-state drunk driving statistics for 2013. How did California fare when it came to alcohol-impaired accidents in 2013?
California saw 3,000 traffic fatalities in 2013. Of those fatalities, 158 involved drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .01 to .07 percent. Eight hundred and sixty seven fatalities involved drivers with a BAC of .08 percent (the legal limit) or over, and 583 of these fatalities involved drivers with a BAC of .15 percent or over.
BAC levels have a significant impact on a person’s ability to drive: At a BAC of .08 percent, drivers experience impairments in concentration, memory loss, information processing capability and perception, and also have problems with speed control. At a BAC of .15 percent, there is substantial impairment in tasks that are important to driving, such as control of your vehicle and ability to pay attention to the task of driving itself.
And how do the 2013 drunk driving statistics in California compare to the 2012 numbers? Unfortunately, the 2013 numbers show an increase in the number of drunk-driving related fatalities, rather than a decrease, with 829 drunk-driving related fatalities occurring in the state in 2012 and 867 drunk-driving related fatalities occurring in 2013.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a Los Angeles drunk driving accident, Bradley I. Kramer and his experienced legal team are here to help you obtain the compensation to which you are entitled. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.