In Texas, more than three times as many DUI crashes are fatal and nearly twice as many DUI wrecks cause serious injuries compared to other types of accidents. On rural roads, TxDOT statistics for 2012 show that only 1.59% of all accidents were fatal. Our Pearland car accident lawyers note that those wrecks claimed 1,892 lives. Where the crashes were alcohol-related, 5.88% of the wrecks on Texas rural roads claimed lives. 30.77% of DUI crashes, almost one third, caused serious injuries, while only 17.76% of all accidents resulted in serious injury.
In Texas urban areas, the proportions are similar. Only 0.44% of all crashes were fatal in 2012, but of the DUI wrecks, 2.69% were fatal. 23% of the alcohol-related wrecks resulted in serious injuries, compared to only 14.43% overall.
Higher speeds, dangerous head-on crashes, and wrong way driving account for much of the disproportionate toll taken on lives and limbs by DUI crashes. Drunken drivers are dangerous drivers with impaired judgment. They take greater risks with your lives and with their own. This is equally true of drivers impaired by drugs or a mixture of drugs and alcohol. It is the impairment that matters: impaired vision, reflexes, reaction times, decision-making abilities, and judgment make for a dangerous cocktail of deficiency behind the wheel.
Individuals react differently to alcohol and drugs. Some can drive normally when they’ve had a few drinks. Others began to veer into other lanes with only one drink under their belt. Know your limits.
DUI accidents are 100% avoidable. There are always alternatives to drinking and driving. If you know you’re going to be out drinking, plan for another way home. The Pearland car accident lawyers at Denena Points, PC urge you to bring a designated driver; take a cab; or take public transportation. But don’t drink or drug and drive. Seriously: the life you save might be your own. As the statistics prove, the consequences of a DUI crash can be especially deadly. Click the link to read about a horrific DUI crash that took a woman’s life.