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December is National Drunk Driving Awareness Month

Posted on Friday, November 30, 2018
December is National Drunk Driving Awareness Month

Some Statistics:
Every day about 800 people are injured in a drunk driving crash.
Every two minutes, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash.
50 to 75 percent of convicted drunk drivers continue to drive on a suspended license.
In 2015, three times as many males were arrested for drunk driving as females (508,633 v 167,327).
An average drunk driver has driven drunk over 80 times before first arrest.
Only time will sober a person up. Drinking strong coffee, exercising or taking a cold shower will not help.
The rate of drunk driving is highest among 26 to 29 year olds (20.7 percent).
Statistics taken from MADD.

Signs of an intoxicated driver:
Stop and go driving

Drunk drivers tend to lose track of where they're going and what they're doing when they get on the road.

Uneven turns
Drunk drivers oftentimes overshoot or undershoot their turns, requiring them to adjust quickly in mid turn. This has the effect of looking like a swerve mid-turn.

Driving too fast or too slow
Drunk drivers will oftentimes drive much slower or faster than the posted speed limits. They're often a little different than the average speeder in this regard, as most speeders stay around 5 or 10 mph over the speed limit and maintain their speed.

Swerving in/out of lanes A drunk driving classic tell-tale! Sometimes they'll straddle two lanes for many miles or keep pulling into another lane without signaling and then jerk back into their own.

Tailgating
Not the fun BBQ-in-the-parking-lot type of tailgating. Drink drivers will tend to tailgate, swerve and be harassing all at once. If someone is doing this to you, do whatever you have to so that they can get by you or so that you can get safely off of the road.


What should you do if you see someone who appears to be drunk driving? Avoid the area (pull over to let them pass or pull over completely to clear the road). Make sure to get the vehicles Model, color, license plate, description of the driver and a good description of what is going on. CALL 911. Tell them which way that the drunk driver was headed. Never try to follow a drunk driver unless there is plenty of space between you and them. NEVER get out of the car and try to interact with them. Also, keep in mind that lots of health issues can appear to be a drunk driver. It could be possible that someone is going in and out of conciseness while driving due to a medical issue.

If you are hit by a drunk driver, make sure to CALL 911 ASAP. Try to remain calm and avoid interacting with the drunk driver other than making sure they are ok or not suffering from a medical emergency. If you have to get out of your car, try to record all interactions on a cell phone and let the driver know you would rather wait for police to get there before talking to the other driver. Make sure to have your license, insurance and registration available for the officer that will arrive on scene.
Don't forget to get a police report number to provide to your insurance company as well as any possible attorneys you may need if needed.

Have you ever been hit by a drunk driver? How did it effect your life? Were you once the drunk driver - let us know how it effected your legal life in the long run. Tell us below!

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