Every year, more than seventeen thousand people die in alcohol related vehicle accidents. This accounts for forty percent of all traffic related fatalities. Of these fatal accidents motorcycle operators have the highest incidence of intoxication (at thirty two percent)- otherwise known as driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI). Large-truck drivers had the lowest rate of car crash DUI incidents at two percent of all fatal accidents. Thirty percent of all Americans will be involved in a car crash DUI incident at some point in their lives. Car crash DUI accidents are five times more likely to happen at night than during the day. Car crash DUI perpetrators are more likely to be male, and are most likely to be between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-four.
There are several factors pertaining to a DUI incident that enhance DUI sentencing. The following circumstances can make a DUI sentence more severe: a child was in the car during the DUI incident, there are prior drunk driving convictions, the driver failed to comply with implied consent laws requiring chemical testing, the driver has a BAC greater than .20 percent, the impaired driver is speeding at least twenty miles above the speed limit, and car crash DUI related circumstances.
Not only do drunk drivers have to answer to the law for driving under the influence, they also have to answer to their victims who suffer serious injuries as a result of their negligent behavior. If you have been injured or someone you love has been killed in a car accident that was caused by a drunk driver, you should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer immediately.
At the Singleton Law Firm, LLC our Georgia drunk driving accident attorneys represent victims injured at the careless hands of drunk drivers. We provide strong representation to the driver and passengers in the victim’s car as well as any passengers in the drunk driver’s car who were injured. Our goal is always to obtain the maximum level of compensation available for our clients.