February 12, 2012
/24-7PressRelease/ -- In Pennsylvania, Hundreds of Impaired-Driving Fatalities Occur Annually
The statistics on impaired driving speak volumes about the dangers posed by this nationwide problem. For example, in 2010, U.S. adults got behind the wheel while legally intoxicated about 112 million times, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC's numbers are also unequivocal about who is mainly to blame: 81 percent of drinking and driving incidents in 2010 -- four out of every five -- involved men.
Impairment Leads to DUI and Tragic Accidents
The most recent statistics reveal that more than 50,000 Pennsylvania drivers were arrested in 2009 for violating the state's laws prohibiting driving under the influence, or DUI. Drivers are illegally intoxicated if their blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, level is 0.08 percent or higher. Since 2003, Pennsylvania has three levels of DUI offenses:
-"General Impairment" for a BAC of 0.08 to 0.099 percent
-"High BAC" for a BAC of 0.10 to 0.159 percent
-"Highest BAC" for BAC of 0.16 percent and higher
DUI arrests and penalties are certainly not the end of the story; drunk drivers often cause accidents. The costs of DUI accidents include property damage, injuries and most importantly, thousands of human fatalities each year. In 2009, 10,839 people were killed in alcohol-related auto accidents, comprising nearly one-third of all traffic fatalities in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In Pennsylvania alone, alcohol-impaired drivers caused 406 fatalities in 2009.
Minors: More Than a Minor Problem
Drivers under 21 years old are not yet legal to consume alcohol, yet they contribute substantially to Pennsylvania's impaired-driving problem. Of Pennsylvania's total alcohol-related fatalities in 2009, almost 10 percent of the victims, or the impaired drivers, were under 21, while that age group tallied just under 10 percent of the state's 50,177 DUI arrests.
A motor vehicle crash can have serious consequences regardless of whether the driver who caused it was impaired by alcohol or not. Injured drivers and the family members of those in fatal crashes should contact a skilled personal injury attorney to find out what legal options they can pursue to obtain a fair amount of compensation for the harm caused by the liable party.
Article provided by McCarthy Weisberg Cummings, P.C.
Visit us at http://www.mwcfirm.com
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