At least every week the Atlanta media carries a story concerning a wreck in which alcohol and drunk driving are a factor. The lawyers at Finch McCranie LLP see entirely too many cases in which alcohol or drunk driving cause serious injuries and death. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, recently released data concerning alcohol impaired driving for the year 2007. This is the latest year in which the data has been collected and analyzed. The figures are frightening.
\nDrivers are considered to be alcohol-impaired when their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is .08 grams per deciliter (g\/dL) or higher. Thus, any fatality occurring in a crash involving a driver with a BAC of .08 or higher is considered to be an alcohol-impaired-driving fatality. In the NHTSA study the term driver included motorcycle operators as well as car and truck drivers.
\nIn 2007, 12,998 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. These alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities accounted for 32 percent of the total motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the United States.
\nWhile these numbers are entirely too high, traffic fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving wrecks decreased nearly 4 percent from 13,491 in 2006 to 12,998 in 2007. The 12,998 fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes during 2007 represent an average of one alcohol-impaired-driving fatality every 40 minutes.
\nIn 2007, all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had by law created a
\nthreshold making it illegal per se to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher. Of the 12,998
\npeople who died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in 2007, 8,644 (67%) were
\ndrivers with a BAC of .08 or higher. The remaining fatalities consisted of 3,581 (28%)
\nmotor vehicle passengers and 773 (6%) pedestrians.
\nIn 2007, a total of 1,670 children age 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle
\ntraffic crashes. Of those 1,670 fatalities, 245 (15%) occurred in alcohol-impaired driving
\ncrashes. Out of those 245 deaths, more than half (130) were occupants of a
\nvehicle with a driver who had a BAC level of .08 or higher. Another 29 children age 14 and younger who were killed in traffic crashes in 2007 were pedestrians or cyclists who were struck by drivers with a BAC of .08 or higher.
\nThe rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes was four
\ntimes higher at night than during the day (36% versus 9%).
\nIn 2007, 15 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes during the week were
\nalcohol-impaired, compared to 31 percent on weekends.
\nIn fatal crashes in 2007 the highest percentage of drivers with a BAC level of .08 or
\nhigher was for drivers ages 21 to 24 (35%), followed by ages 25 to 34 (29%) and 35
\nto 44 (25%). The percentages of drivers involved in fatal crashes with a BAC level of .08 or
\nhigher in 2007 were 27 percent for motorcycle operators and 23 percent for both
\nlight trucks and passenger cars. The percentage of drivers with BAC levels of .08 or
\nhigher in fatal crashes was the lowest for large trucks (1%). In 2007, 7,058 passenger vehicle drivers killed had a BAC of .08 or higher. Out of those 7,058 driver fatalities, for which restraint use was known, 73 percent were unrestrained.
\nDrivers with a BAC of .08 or higher involved in fatal crashes were eight times
\nmore likely to have a prior conviction for driving while impaired (DWI) than were
\ndrivers with no alcohol related prior convictions.<\/p>\n