The United States has over 6.5 million vehicle accidents annually which creates approximately 3 billion in expenses to insurance companies and drivers. A person dies in one of these accidents every twelve minutes. Impaired Driving driving is the main cause of accidents, and the majority of them could easily be prevented.
The majority accidents are as a result of drivers speeding, being distracted, drunk or reckless, or uncontrollable weather conditions. Many of these situations can be prevented. A driver that is distracted or under the influence of a substance is impaired, meaning they are unable to react and behave to their greatest ability.
A common situation is when you are running late and in a rush, you start bending the rules of the road to get where you need to be. This may mean that you speed or weave through traffic inappropriately. The laws made for drivers keep everyone on the same page and limit accidents from occurring because they are expected to behave int he same manner.
Eating or using a cell phone may also contribute to a person being unable to maintain focus on the road and other drivers. The problem created by the use of a cell phone, or texting while driving, has created such a huge stir that many states have implemented laws prohibiting their use. The act of eating, putting on make-up, reaching for something, texting, reading or talking on the phone takes the drivers mind and possibly hands away from controlling the automobile, this puts other people at risk and exponentially increases the chances of an accident.
Drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol are responsible for an estimated 15,000 deaths per year. Alcohol can effect the mental abilities of individuals at very low levels. BAC, or blood alcohol content, levels are the manner in which people are measured for intoxication. It has been well established that individuals who have a BAC as low as 0.01 show signs of impairment.
There are laws regarding DUI throughout the entire United States. The BAC, breath alcohol content, level varies in legal limit by the state, but are no less than 0.08. This number is the so called legal limit however individuals begin to feel the effects as low as 0.01.
Studies have been completed which show that at a BAC or 0.01 to 0.03 a person may appear to act normally however their mental and visual function has already begun to show impairment. At levels of 0.03 to 0.06 people begin to feel the calming effects of alcohol consumption, but concentration, alertness and coordination has already declined. These levels of BAC, many people may comment that they are just buzzed and believe they are still able to drive.
Recognized intoxication is seen at a BAC of 0.06 to 0.1, this person has problems focusing mentally and visually. At the range of 0.11 to 0.2 people are considered drunk, they loose physical coordination, and display slurred speech. When a person surpasses this level they loose consciousness, experience blackouts, and can lapse into death. With the common fact to the different levels of alcohol concentration being the inability to reason, it is no wonder impaired driving is the main cause of accidents.
Impaired Driving is criminal assault, hire a DUI lawyers maintain a clean criminal record.