What Causes Drunk Drivers to Crash?
After decades of steady decline, the number of fatal alcohol-related wrecks has increased 33 percent since 2019. The pandemic caused much of this increase. Since traffic enforcement increased and roads emptied. Drivers picked up some bad habits, such as drinking and driving. Traffic enforcement is now nearly at pre-pandemic levels, but police officers can’t be everywhere at once. And, since roads are busy again, many more people are at risk.
Arguably, drunk drivers know they shouldn’t get behind the wheel, yet they do so anyway. As a result, a Carlsbad drunk driving accident lawyer can usually obtain substantial compensation in these cases. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses,, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages are usually available as well, in extreme cases.
Judgment Errors
Alcohol impairs judgment, partially because it gives people an artificial sense of euphoria. This effect is nice when at home or at a party, but it’s usually deadly behind the wheel.
This judgment impairment begins with the decision to get behind the wheel. Many impaired or intoxicated individuals believe they can drive well enough to get home. But alcohol impairment begins with the first drink and becomes much worse with each additional drink.
People with impaired judgment cannot make quick decisions, such as judging the distance between their vehicles and other vehicles, or the amount of time before a light changes from green to red.
Furthermore, since judgment-impaired drivers have a false sense of euphoria, they don’t realize anything is wrong until it’s too late to correct their driving errors.
These judgment errors make a car crash more likely, and they also make it easier for a San Marcos personal injury lawyer to obtain compensation in these cases. Many people who’ve been drinking don’t have filters. They say things they wouldn’t ordinarily say, such as admitting that they were drinking and driving.
Aggressive Driving
The false sense of euphoria also prompts intoxicated and impaired motorists to take unnecessary chances. They believe they can speed, turn unsafely, and otherwise drive aggressively without endangering other motorists.
Sometimes, alcohol has the opposite effect. It encourages un-aggressive driving. These motorists often drive very slowly or stop for no reason, thus creating hazards for other drivers.
If the driver was legally intoxicated, a San Marcos personal injury lawyer can use the negligence per se doctrine to obtain compensation as a matter of law. This legal rule applies if the tortfeasor (negligent driver) violates a safety law, such as the DUI law, and that violation substantially causes injury.
In other cases, the ordinary negligence doctrine is available. This doctrine usually applies if the tortfeasor had been drinking, and was therefore impaired, but was not legally intoxicated.
Work With a Diligent San Diego County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Oceanside, contact the Pursley Law Firm. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
Source:
madd.org/drunk-driving-deaths-rose-to-32-of-all-traffic-fatalities-in-2022/
