Who Is Liable for Injuries in a Drunk Driving Accident?

Car accidents are frightening and dangerous. Car accidents that are caused by drunk drivers are that much more difficult. When you get behind the wheel of your car, you take on an immense responsibility—and we all understand the dangers associated with driving while under the influence of alcohol. Put simply, drunk drivers are dangerous drivers who are responsible for the injuries they cause in car accidents. If a drunk driver has hurt you, there’s a strong chance that you’ll be able to recover compensation for your injuries. To learn more, call an experienced attorney to discuss your case.

Drunk Driving: The Statistics

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides several startling statistics associated with drunk driving in the United States:

An alcohol-impaired driver is involved in a fatal car accident 29 times every day (one death every 50 minutes).
The cost associated with these traffic fatalities is more than $44 billion annually.
In 2016, drivers impaired by alcohol caused 28 percent of all traffic fatalities.
Each year, there are about 111 million incidents (self-reported) of driving under the influence, but only about 1 percent of these cases end in arrest.

In Connecticut, authorities attributed 3,080 crashes to drunk drivers in 2015 (eight a day). The overwhelming majority take place on weekends, late at night, and with men driving under the influence.

Drunk drivers wreak a lot of damage on our roadways. If you suffered an injury in a car accident that a drunk driver caused, you need an experienced New London, Connecticut car accident attorney.

Alcohol and Impairment

Driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous, and there are a variety of studies that illustrate exactly why this is true:

Alcohol causes decreased peripheral vision.
Alcohol limits the ability to recover from visual glare.
Alcohol diminishes the ability to track anything that is visually complex (such as driving conditions).
Alcohol leads to inferior performance when one’s attention is divided between competing forces—as often happens when driving.

Any of these conditions can contribute to dangerous accidents on our roads, and drivers who are irresponsible enough to get behind the wheel when drinking should be held accountable for the accidents and injuries they cause.

Identifying Drunk Drivers

Drunk drivers are dangerous drivers, and there are several reliable indicators that a driver may be under the influence of alcohol:

Poorly monitoring one’s speed while driving, including speeding, driving slowly in the passing lane, or erratically changing lanes
Drifting in and out of the driving lane; straddling two lanes; or driving too near the shoulder of the road
Ignoring traffic signs and/or signals; stopping short of traffic signs and/or signals; overshooting traffic signs and/or signals
Failing to use driving signals or signaling erroneously
Failing to use headlights when needed and/or failing to dim high beams as appropriate

Drunk drivers are erratic drivers, and their actions are often difficult to predict. If you think the driver responsible for your car accident is under the influence, alert the authorities at the scene.

If a Drunk Driver Injured You, Consult a New London Car Accident Lawyer Today

Car accidents are harrowing, and car accidents that are caused by drunk drivers are often devastating. The compassionate legal team at Polito & Harrington, LLC, in New London, Connecticut, has the experience, skill, and knowledge to help guide your car accident claim toward the compensation to which you are entitled. We’re here to help hold drunk drivers responsible for the immense damages they cause, so please contact or call us at (860) 447-3300 for a free consultation and case evaluation today.